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MISD trustees adopt 2025 tax rate at $1.0912 per $100 valuation after clarification on 'no new revenue' comparison
Summary
Montgomery Independent School District trustees on Aug. 19 approved a 2025 ad valorem tax rate of $1.0912 per $100 of taxable value, the same total rate the district adopted last year, after trustees and staff clarified how the state92s no-new-revenue calculation and homestead exemption changes affect apparent rate comparisons.
Montgomery Independent School District trustees on Aug. 19 approved the district92s 2025 ad valorem tax rate of $1.0912 per $100 of taxable valuation, a total made up of 0.3743 cents for debt service and 0.7169 cents for maintenance and operations. The board voted to adopt the rate during its regular meeting after staff laid out the components and trustees discussed how the state92s formulas affect comparisons to the so-called no-new-revenue rate.
The vote matters because the rate funds the district92s 2025-26 maintenance, operations and debt service budgets. Board members and staff emphasized that the total rate equals last year92s rate and is not a literal increase in the district92s tax rate compared with what taxpayers paid last year.
District staff explained why the no-new-revenue rate is not an "apples-to-apples" comparison for school districts. The staff presentation said rising property values can compress a district92s maintenance-and-operations rate, but that effect was offset this year by an increase in the homestead exemption (from $100,000 to $140,000 in November, as discussed by staff), which reduces the district's taxable value and therefore countered the expected compression. Staff also said state funding calculations mean that simply choosing a lower rate does not necessarily yield the expected funding or taxpayer outcome for a school district.
During discussion trustees read the statutorily required motion language and several trustees and staff clarified that the 11.91% figure read in the motion is a comparison to the statutory no-new-revenue rate, not an absolute increase in the district92s previously adopted tax rate. One trustee asked if the district was increasing taxes; staff answered that the total adopted rate of 1.0912 per $100 is the same as last year.
A motion to adopt the debt-service portion at 0.3743 per $100 was moved and seconded. The board then voted on the maintenance-and-operations portion at 0.7169 per $100, and adopted the combined rate by voice vote; the presiding officer announced the motion carried.
Discussion: Trustees and staff spent time distinguishing the required motion language from the practical effect on taxpayers and explained how state calculations (including the no-new-revenue concept and changes in the homestead exemption) interact with local rates. Staff cautioned that the statutory verbiage trustees must read can be confusing to the public.
Outcome: The board adopted the 2025 ad valorem tax rate by order/resolution: debt service 0.3743 per $100 and maintenance and operations 0.7169 per $100, total 1.0912 per $100 taxable valuation. The presiding officer announced the motion carried.
What92s next: The adopted rate will fund the 2025-26 maintenance and operations and debt service budgets; no additional board action was recorded on this item at the Aug. 19 meeting.
(Quoted material in this article is attributed only to speakers listed in the article92s speaker section.)
