Taxpayers could see a seven cent decrease on their taxes for Carroll ISD pending the Board of Trustees’ approval next month.
The current tax rate is set at $1.38 per $100 valuation, which Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services Scott Wrehe claims to be the fifth-lowest tax rate across Tarrant County school districts. The 2019-20 proposed rate would cut the tax rate down to $1.31 per $100 valuation, according to a public meeting notice. Wrehe says the proposed budget was based on the estimated taxable value of $9.5 billion, which in turn is an estimated property value growth of 8.1%.
“Those values could change as appraisals continue to get resolved,” Wrehe explained to the trustees. “We could see additional value increases in September or later, but right now those are our certified values as of July.”
Wrehe says the decrease is a result of the Texas Legislature's passage of HB3, which is a school finance bill that increases teacher compensation and cuts local property taxes. The cut comes from the district’s maintenance and operations tax rate, which decreased from $1.04 to 97 cents per $100 valuation.
The approved budget also includes a 4% salary increase for all staff with up to five years of experience and a 4.5% increase for staff with six or more years of experience. Teachers with up to five years of experience would see an average annual raise of $1,876, or $156 per month, while teachers with more than six years of experience would receive an average annual raise of $2,197, or $183 a month.
“Carroll ISD ranked eighth out of 21 in beginning teacher pay, 13th in pay for teachers with 10 plus years of experience and 11th for teachers with 20 years of experience,” Wrehe says. “The proposed salary increases would do a great benefit to help increase those comparisons with other districts.”
Wrehe explained to the trustees that the proposed budget had to be approved at that meeting since August marks the end of the 2018-19 budget year. The board could deliberate on the tax rate further, however, and approve the final rate during their next meeting. The board also discussed potentially lowering the interest and sinking tax rate up to one cent as well.
“This is really exciting that we can reduce the tax rate this year by the margin we are going to do,” Board of Trustees Vice President Michelle Moore expresses. “At least the minimum of the seven cents on the M&O side, that’s something that will be exciting to share very broadly with our community.”
The Board of Trustees will revisit and approve the final 2019-20 tax rate during their next meeting on Sept. 9 at the Carroll ISD Administration Center.