Expect a tax jump: Wylie ISD School Board adopts new budget and tax rate

The Wylie ISD School Board approved a property tax hike of about 26 cents Monday, so taxpayers will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay their tax bills.

Trustees approved the district's new tax rate and budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year during a special meeting .

The School Board approved a rate of $1.1506 per $100 of property valuation, according to the resolution.

The rate is broken down to $0.6669 for maintenance and operations and $0.4837 for payment of principal and interest on debts.

The tax rate for the prior year was set at $0.89, according to WISD tax documents.

In 2023, the M&O rate was $0.6692, and the interest and sinking rate to generate tax revenue for debt payoff was $0.2208.

"So much of what is happening now with school finance is dictated to us," Superintendent Joey Light said.

The maximum compressed tax rate is given to the district by the state, and if the school district does not pursue the maximum rate, whether it's higher or lower, the state penalizes it, Light said.

The state of Texas M&O rate is $0.6669.

"Just as a reminder because we have been looking at the bond election and to appropriately fund our bond debt, we are really dependent on the tax appraisal district to make sure we have our $100,000 homestead (exemptions) taken into account, our tax compressions, all those things. They've got a tough job," Light said.

The district leans on Gary Earnest, chief appraiser at the Central Appraiser District of Taylor County, and his team to know exactly what to do as there are lots of moving parts, Light said.

"So, this year we are going to go with the exact I&S rate Gary recommended that we need to meet those bond payments," he said.

The total tax rate is lower than it was in 2020, and the M&O rate is the lowest it's ever been, Light said.

"The state of Texas is contributing dollars to compress the property tax rate across the state, so that benefits all of us and that is a good thing," he said.

The School Board also adopted a nearly $64 million budget for 2024-2025.

The proposed budget shows $48 million in the general fund, $3 million for food service and $13.3 million to pay off debt such as bond issues.

"I do think as we continue to see growth, you know, that it just seems we continue to see bigger and bigger budgets," Light said.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Expect a tax jump: Wylie ISD School Board adopts new budget and tax rate