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Humble ISD is one of nearly 70 districts statewide that has been identied as a fast- growth school district. HISD’s enrollment has increased by more than 5,900 students since the passage of the district’s last bond referendum in the 2017-18 school year. ENROLLMENT ON THE RISE
that the passage of the 2022 bond will not result in an increase in the district’s I&S tax rate, which has remained at $0.35 per $100 of valu- ation since 2008—meaning the 2018 bond did not result in higher tax rates. According to HISD Chief Financial Ocer Billy Beattie, the district proj- ects the M&O tax rate can be lowered by $0.02 in 2022 if the total property value in the area grows by 6% as antic- ipated. Beattie noted the district’s status as a fast-growth district con- tributes to it being able to issue bonds without raising property tax rates. “As new homes are constructed, new businesses open and existing property values rise, Humble ISD’s total tax value base grows, allowing the district to collect more tax rev- enue,” said Beattie, noting property value growth has allowed the district to lower tax rates three times since the 2018 bond was approved. Maegan Kirby contributed to this report.
school district—a district with enroll- ment growth over the last ve years of at least 10%, or a net increase of 3,400 or more students, according to the Fast Growth School Coalition. Greg Smith, executive director of the advocacy group, said bonds are particularly important for fast-growing districts because the construction of newfacilities andother capital projects can only be funded through a school district’s interest and sinking tax rate; the maintenance and operations tax rate can only be used to fund day-to- day operations, such as salaries and school supplies. “[There] are some things that you can handle within your … mainte- nance and operations budget, but there are certain things that you can’t handle [with that budget] if you’re a fast-growing school district,” he said. Since the passage of HISD’s last bond in 2018, the district’s student population has grown by roughly 14% from 42,310 in the 2017-18 school year to 48,300 in 2021-22. No new taxes District ocials have maintained
HUMBLE ISD STUDENT ENROLLMENT
48,300
50,000
45,000
38,235
40,000
35,000
Enrollment change from 2013-22: +26.3%
0
SOURCES: POPULATION AND SURVEY ANALYSTS, HUMBLE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
district’s average growth rate of about 1,000 students per year. “We’ve been growing now for some time, and previous bonds have been addressing that growth,” Brown said. “This bond addresses that growth, and we’ll continue [to address enroll- ment changes] because we’re going to keep growing through this decade.” According to Superintendent Eliza- bethFagen, thesoutheastportionof the
district—which encompasses the Sum- merwood, Whispering Pines, Ridge Creek and Maplebrook subdivisions— is particularly concerning. “These are the campuses that are most congested, so we would really benet from some relief in this area with additional space,” Fagen said during a March 8 board meeting. HISD is one of nearly 70 districts identied statewide as a fast-growth
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION • APRIL 2022
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