Bullard ISD Board of Trustees adopts 24-25 budget, sets tax rates

The Bullard ISD Board of Trustees adopted the 2024-2025 school budget and set the district’s annual tax rates at a special meeting held on Monday, Aug. 26.

Trustees approved a 2024-2025 budget of $31,500,000 before adopting a total tax rate of $1.2469 per $100 valuation. The adopted tax rate includes a maintenance and operation (M&O) rate of $0.7469 and an interest and sinking (I&S) rate of $0.50.

Compared to the 2023-2024 adopted tax rate, the M&O rate decreased by $0.0023 due to rising property values and tax rate compression. The I&S rate remains at $.50 due to the $103 million bond package voters approved in May 2022.

Similar to many school districts across the state, the 2024-2025 adopted budget contains a general fund shortfall of $1,297,990. The deficit is due to several economic factors, including inflation, rising insurance costs, underfunded state mandates, and perhaps the largest factor, a stagnant state-funded per-student allotment of $6,160.

“While inflation has surged over 22%, the state has not increased the basic allotment schools receive per student since 2019,” Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee said. “To put this into perspective, it would take an additional $1,300 per student for Bullard ISD to have the same purchasing power as in 2019. The state's decisions have also led to the near elimination of reimbursements through the School Health and Related Services (SHARS) program, which provides critical funding for health-related services for our students with disabilities. For Bullard ISD, this means nearly $400,000 in lost funds. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to providing these much-needed services to our students."

Although the approved budget contains a deficit, raises and incentive pay for teachers and staff remained a priority, Lee said. The approved budget includes a 2% raise on the midpoint for all full-time employees and a $500 incentive payment.

“First and foremost, we continue to prioritize our faculty and staff and the outstanding job they do educating students,” Lee said. “Even with a deficit, the budget provides well-deserved pay increases.”

Bullard ISD has built a healthy fund balance over the past four years and plans to use these funds to help balance the budget.