Magnolia ISD officials approved a nearly $175 million budget, including a lower tax rate and no raises for teachers and staff.
Following some neighboring districts, Magnolia ISD teachers and staff are expected to receive a $500 bonus on Oct. 15. The compensation plan will remain in effect unless additional funding from the state becomes available, said Erich Morris, assistant superintendent of operations for the district.
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House Bill 100 in the Texas Legislature would have allocated $3.8 billion to public schools and increased teacher salaries, but failed to pass during the 88th legislative session.
“We are hopeful (state legislators) call a special meeting in October,” Morris told board members during an Aug. 28 meeting. “As it is today, we’re in current law, which means the same funding per student that we’ve had since 2019.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott signed off on a $18 billion property tax cut package that is expected to head to voters in November. The package includes a raise on the homestead exemption for school property taxes from $40,000 to $100,000, allowing homeowners to shave off more taxable value from their primary residence.
Using Texas’ record $33 billion budget surplus, the deal puts more than $12 billion toward driving down school tax rates over the next two years by forcing districts to “compress” their rates and replacing the local revenue with state money.
“The state is picking up the difference from what we lost,” Morris said. “However, the over funding per student is the same.”
The district board also approved a tax rate of $96 cents per 100 property valuation.
“We will basically be the same as Conroe, as one of the few districts in the area…who has a total tax rate under a dollar,” he said.
Magnolia ISD’s 2022-23 budget was more than $164 million, with a tax rate of $1.14 per $100 property valuation.
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During the Aug. 28 meeting, Superintendent Todd Stephens said some people might wonder why the district is lowering taxes when it has funding needs such as teacher raises.
“We don’t have any alternative,” Stephens said, noting the property tax cut package. “It’s happening all across (the state).”
The district can always do better, said Board president Gary Blizzard during the Aug. 28 meeting.
“But the fact is, we’ve done quite good with what we’ve got,” Blizzard said. “We’ve been good stewards of what we’ve got…to the point that it’s impressive.”
Officials said student growth is what’s going to help the district.
