Wimberley ISD unanimously passed a new budget and tax rate that will lower the tax rate but increase taxes for property owners resulting in a 21.6% increase in total estimated tax revenue for the district.
This is the result of a 27.8% increase in the taxable value of property along with the new tax rate, which is largely decided by the state funding mechanism.
“The state changed their funding mechanism back in 2019 and created a system in which the state basically tells us each year what our Maintenance and Operation rate is going to be,” Superintendent Greg Bonewald said. “That rate is driven by property value growth, but it is calculated by the state. If a school district takes a lesser rate than the Voter-Approved Rate (which WISD took) then the system punishes the school district by reducing our funding within the state’s current formula.”
Even with the additional funds, the budget approved for the 2022-23 school year creates almost a $1 million operating deficit largely due to a more than $3 million increase in funds the school district is required to return to the state of Texas as part of the Chapter 49 recapture program often referred to as Robinhood. The nearly $8.4 million Robinhood payment far outweighs the state and federal funds given to WISD to help operate the district.
“The state caps our per student funding, so when our property values rise and we generate more funding locally, what ultimately happens is the lion’s share of that funding goes back to the state,” Bonewald said. “That is why you see the large increase in the Chapter 49 payment. So while we are generating more funding, only a small percentage of that is staying here locally for us to implement more programs for our students and our teachers. Our hope is that in the coming legislative session the per student funding that has been stagnant since 2019 will increase so that we will be able to keep more of the public school funding that is generated locally here in our district.”
The district is also receiving around $1.3 million less state and federal funding than last year, requiring a larger percentage of locally collected tax revenue to make up the difference. “Like any organization that finds themselves in a deficit budget, we are currently in the process of analyzing all of our systems and looking at how we are spending our funds looking to streamline and make sure we are using our resources as efficiently as possible,” Bonewald said. “We also recognize it costs more to do things than it did when the state redid funding in 2019. If we want to be able to attract and retain high quality teachers and staff and offer innovative programming for our students then we are going to need the state’s help to help fund our schools at a level above and beyond 2019 levels given the high rates of inflation.”
WISD approved the overall tax rate of $1.1622. Property tax rates are a combination of a Maintenance and Operation rate, which is used to run the district’s affairs, and an Interest and Sinking rate, which is specifically used to pay down debt from bonds. They are paid per $100 of taxable property value. The district’s M&O tax rate was set at .8911, which is 89.11 cents per $100 of taxable property value. This rate is nearly two cents lower than last year’s tax rate. The I&S tax rate was set at .2711, which is all but identical to last year’s I&S tax rate. The district’s total tax rate of $1.1622 is almost two cents lower than last year’s $1.1812.
However, the taxable value of property within the district has skyrocketed 27.8% over the last year. This includes the increased value of homes and property as well as new construction. Because of the increase in overall property value, the decrease in tax rate still results in an overall tax increase. The average home in Wimberley ISD in 2021 had a taxable value of $289,781. At last year’s tax rate of $1.1812, the average home last year would have paid $3,422.89 in property taxes to Wimberley ISD.
The average home in Wimberley in 2022 had a taxable value of $317,328. At the new tax rate of $1.1622, the average home this year will pay $3,687.99 in property taxes to Wimberley ISD. This amounts to a $265.10 increase in taxes on the average home amounting to a 7.74% increase. This does not take into account any additional property tax exemptions or property owners who are over the age of 65 and have had their property taxes frozen.
The $1.1622 tax rate was the Voter-Approval Rate.
The district estimates that this will bring in nearly $41 million in tax revenue, which is a little more than $7.2 million more in revenue than last year representing a 21.6% increase in total tax estimated local revenue. The school estimates that they will serve 2,668 with an estimated Average Daily Attendance of 2,494. The Average Daily Attendance is what the state uses to calculate funding. With these estimates, the district said that the proposed total revenue per student would be $13,361. Overall, the district plans to spend $771 more per student this year than last year, which is a 6% increase. Local revenue makes up almost 92% of the total operating revenue budgeted with the state making up 5.5% and federal revenue making up 2.25%.
The WISD Board of Trustees also approved a total expense budget of $42,130,431, which is a little more than 5% increase over the most recently approved revised budget for last year. Of that, $5.86 million will go towards debt service with the opportunity to put a few million more towards paying off debt later in the year.
Dan Wegmiller, who advises WISD on school finance matters, suggested that the debt service rate stay the same as last year to raise additional funds that would pay off the bond debt early, saving the district “a few hundreds thousand in interest costs.” The Food Service budget, which has undergone drastic change now that pandemic era programs aimed at making every school meal free have ended, is proposed for $903,101 with a $259,434 surplus. The General Fund budget is proposed for $35,372,050, which would create a $951,710 deficit in that fund. It includes $8,393,449 in “Robinhood” payments to the state for Chapter 49 recapture, which is up more than $3 million from last year’s Robinhood payment. The budget also includes additional expenses of $200,000 in increased costs related to transportation, maintenance and custodial supplies as well as $175,000 for security and monitoring equipment and $104,000 for two new School Resource Officers to be stationed at Blue Hole Primary and Jacob’s Well. Collectively the state and federal government are expected to pay about $1.3 million less to WISD than last year as well.
“We did the best we could to pass a fiscally conservative budget given the hand we were dealt from the state legislature from the increasing Chapter 49, what we know as Robinhood, payment,” WISD Board President Rob Campbell said. “It was quite the challenge. After three budget workshops and the diligent work of our staff they presented us with a good option. Now what we are hoping for is that the legislature will make a difference for midsize schools that are considered property rich districts like Wimberley ISD. That is our hope. We plan to be active with our representatives in influencing that kind of outcome.”
Teachers received a standard “step” raise meaning generally that pay increases given the years of experience for each employee. The district also approved retention stipends for employees. These stipends come from the CARES Act, which was a COVID-19 relief bill signed by the federal government. The fund is called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The stipends will pay $1,200 to fulltime WISD employees who were employed as of March 21, 2022 and are still employed this school year. Two $600 payments will be made in October and January. Part-time employees will receive a $600 stipend in two $300 payments made at the same time.
