Pearland ISD adopts 2025 tax rate unchanged at $1.1350; trustees hear public hearing with no speakers

PEARLAND, Texas — The Pearland Independent School District Board of Trustees on Sept. 9 held a public hearing and then adopted the district’s 2025 tax rate, keeping the total rate the same as the prior year at $1.1350 per $100 of taxable value.

Superintendent Doctor Berger opened the hearing and explained the two parts of the rate: maintenance and operations (M&O) and interest and sinking (I&S). Based on the district’s calculations, Berger said the recommended M&O portion would be $0.7869 and the I&S portion $0.3481, giving an overall rate of $1.1350 — the same total rate as in 2024. Berger told the board the district’s property value growth was 3.1% for the tax year — below the state average of 5.6% — and that new homestead and elderly/disabled exemptions had been applied in accordance with recent state legislative changes.

Berger explained statutory comparisons the board must make: although the district’s rate did not increase from last year, state law requires comparison to a “no new revenue” rate. By that comparison, Berger said, the adopted rate would be reported as a 7.11% increase. He summarized how the rate is composed and why the I&S portion remains unchanged to meet annual debt-service obligations.

The board opened the public hearing at 5:14 p.m. and called for in-person comments; there were none. Berger noted the district had received one electronic comment this month, a question about Senate Bill 10, which was entered into the record per state requirements. After the hearing, Trustee Johnson moved that the district adopt the tax rate using the statutorily required language — “I move that the property tax rate be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of $1.1350, which is effectively a 7.11% increase to the tax rate” — Trustee Carter seconded the motion, and the board voted 7-0 to adopt the rate.

The action maintains the district’s current rate structure while preserving the I&S levy needed to meet bond and debt service payments. The adopted rate funds maintenance and operations, enrichment pennies previously approved by voters, and debt service; Superintendent Berger and the district’s financial advisors said no rate increase is being imposed compared with the prior year’s adopted rate. Berger and trustees emphasized the unusual statutory reporting language that treats the unchanged rate as an increase relative to the no-new-revenue benchmark.

Trustees asked clarifying questions during the presentation; none altered the recommendation. The district will proceed with tax-rate notices and required filings following the adopted rate.