On Monday, the Lewisville ISD Board of Directors approved a tax rate of $1.1178 for the 2024-25 school year, a decrease of more than 1 cent from the previous year.
According to a LISD press release, the new rate represents a savings of nearly $200 per year for the average LISD homeowner.
“Thanks to the Board of Trustees’ excellent financial management, the district is able to implement the approved bond programs for 2023 and 2024 and make existing debt payments while reducing the interest and principal (I&S) tax rate by 1 cent,” the district said in a statement. “The district is currently projecting a $4.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2025. The Legislature’s inaction to adjust public school funding for inflation during the 88th Legislature in spring 2023 has created difficult budget scenarios for school districts across the state. The state sets the maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate for all school districts.
“The district has spent the last few months cutting costs through staff reductions, budget cuts at the central office and adjustments to the middle school schedule to reduce expenses. LISD was unable to provide salary increases to staff as part of the 2024-25 budget. Prior to these efforts, LISD projected a deficit of up to $14 million.”
While the lower tax rate is a positive for taxpayers, the district is still dealing with the impact of a lack of state funding. Lewisville ISD is just one of many school districts across the state to pass a deficit budget due to the state’s underfunding of public schools, according to the district. The state legislature would have to increase per-pupil funding, or base allotment, by more than $1,000 just to keep up with inflation. Since 2020, the district has experienced dramatic cost increases beyond its control, including a 113% increase in property insurance, a 61% increase in electric costs and a 52% increase in gas costs.
“We definitely have a crisis in our state when it comes to public school funding,” said School Superintendent Dr. Lori Rapp. “Public school districts are primarily funded through the base allotment, which has not been adjusted since 2019 as inflation rates continue to rise. School districts across the state are facing incredibly difficult budget scenarios, and the state has an opportunity to fix the situation for the 5.4 million students across Texas when it convenes for the 89th Legislature in January.”
Despite the approval of the Voter Approval Tax Rate Ratification (VATRE) election in fall 2023, which provided the district with approximately $37.5 million in additional revenue to maintain competitive staff pay and classroom and extracurricular opportunities and elective programs for students, LISD continues to face difficult budget conditions.
“We are incredibly grateful to the LISD community for approving VATRE in fall 2023,” said LISD Board Chair Jenny Proznik. “We could be in a $39 million deficit right now, but their support has allowed us to finish the year with a balanced budget. I am so grateful to live in a community that is committed to supporting our schools, and I hope that when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2025, it will increase the base allotment, benefiting ALL Texas public school children.”
The district continues to look for ways to reduce costs and has convened the Community Efficiency Committee, a group of over 40 LISD stakeholders to represent the entire community in reviewing facility usage and enrollment trends to develop recommendations to the LISD Board of Trustees on how to proceed with boundary adjustments and facility usage.
The 2024-25 rate cut includes a one-cent reduction in the interest and principal (I&S) tax rate. The I&S tax rate pays off debt incurred by schools through bonds that cannot be used to pay employee compensation. The lower rate also includes a $0.023 reduction in the maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate, which is determined using a formula controlled by the Legislature. The M&O tax rate is used to fund employee salaries and pay daily operating expenses such as utilities and insurance.
