Kathy Henderson, the Rockport-Fulton Independent School District chief financial officer, told the board Thursday that certified property values and state recapture estimates will be decisive as the district finalizes its 2025–26 budget and tax rate.

Henderson called the July property-value presentation “very preliminary” and told trustees that earlier drafts she prepared would change once certified values and updated state templates were available. She said recent template work showed recapture for 2025–26 budgeting near $6.3 million, and noted the district has paid between about $9 million and $9.7 million in prior years. “That is school finance for you,” she told trustees, describing significant year-to-year adjustments.

The board took several formal actions related to budget and tax timing. Trustees approved a public hearing date of Aug. 18, 2025, for the 2025–26 budget and adopted a proposed maximum tax rate to preserve flexibility while state calculations finalize: a maintenance and operations (M&O) proposed rate of 0.7122 and an interest-and-sinking (I&S) proposed rate of 0.1043 for a total proposed rate of 0.8165. The board also designated Kathy Henderson as the district designee to calculate and prepare the district’s no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates.

Board members asked whether the state-provided revenue covers mandated staff raises; Henderson said the state template indicates funds will be provided but stressed district budgeting must be conservative because collections and recapture are volatile. Trustees and staff also discussed enrollment and Skyward migration delays that could undercount students before budget adoption; Henderson said the district was pushing registration communications and expecting Skyward to be live around July 18–22.

The board voted unanimously on the procedural items. No final tax rate was adopted Thursday; trustees approved the proposed (maximum) figure to retain flexibility ahead of state-certified numbers.