FISD adopts $61.7 million budget

During the Monday night Fredericksburg Independent School District board of trustees meeting, trustees adopted a $61.7 million budget, but 42% of this amount will be sent back to the state for recapture, a practice commonly known as “Robin Hood.” Additionally, trustees also set the nutrition budget at $2.7 million, and set its debt service fund at $7.9 million. This particular fund uses revenue from local property taxes to help pay off FISD’s long-term obligations.

FISD recently approved a $3,000 pay raise for teachers. In all, 44% of the district’s funds will go toward district payroll. Property taxes account for roughly $56 million of the district’s general fund revenue. Texas public school districts receive their largest amount of funding from local property taxes, which can vary between districts across the state depending on property values. Texas draws property taxes from the districts with higher revenues to help assist other districts with lower property values to supplement state funding.

Property taxes will not be certified until the end of July, meaning the tax rate will be adopted in August or September after the Texas Education Agency Commissioner certifies that the district has reached the equalized wealth level.