Education
BY ANGELA BONILLA & VANESSA HOLT
Education Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, ranging from new campuses to budget details and recent testing results. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting them.
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What's inside
School construction is underway in Conroe ISD (Page 27)
STAAR results show math, reading declines (Page 31)
District foresees long-term funding challenges (Page 34)
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, Conroe ISD is looking at requesting Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance for an estimated $1 million in damage. At the July 16 board meeting, Chris McCord, CISD assistant superintendent for operations, said the district had prepared for the storm prior to landfall July 8. After the storm, antiscaling fences along schools were damaged, and the district lost power and communications for several days. The damage has also set several construction projects back a week, McCord said. “Debris and tree debris cleanup costs are going to be expensive and signicant,” McCord said. McCord said most damage can be addressed through money in the general fund, but Chief Financial Ocer Karen Garza said the district can also look to using FEMA funds. Conroe ISD sees $1M in damage from Beryl
A look ahead
Garza also recommended the board consider using two “disaster pennies” for the scal year 2025-26 tax rate to help oset damage from weather events. Disaster pennies are a type of “golden penny” that allow for a one-time increase in the tax rate due to an emergency such as a hurricane, and they do not require voter approval, she said. According to the Texas Education Agency, public school districts in Texas can leverage ve golden pennies without voter approval, and another three with voter approval. The tax rate above which golden pennies can be used varies by district, but the maximum maintenance and operations tax rate in FY 2024-25 is $0.8555 per $100 assessment, according to the TEA. Garza said golden pennies, including disaster pennies, are not subject to recapture—a state law that allows the redistribution of excess property tax revenue to other districts. “This would allow us to recoup and tap into those golden pennies to get back some of the money we lost responding to the storm,” Garza said. Superintendent Curtis Null said the cost of repairing the fences cannot be paid for
Disaster pennies School boards can add up to $0.08 to a tax rate, but voter approval is normally needed for three of those cents. 8 golden pennies No voter approval needed
Voter approval needed (except where noted)
Disaster pennies can be used without a vote following a disaster.
SOURCES: CONROE ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
through the state grant that districts used to install the antiscaling fences. However, with a new legislative session in 2025, Null said he would talk to legislators about grants.
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