Lake Travis ISD Board of Trustees on Aug. (public hearing) adopted the district's proposed 2025'26 general, debt-service and food-service budgets and approved a total tax rate of $1.0397 per $100 of assessed value.
The board adopted the budgets after a public hearing during which district staff reviewed enrollment assumptions, new state funding changes and planned fiscal-year alignment.
The budget presentation noted the district will change its fiscal year start from Sept. 1 to July 1 beginning with 2025'26 to better align campus and department budgets with the school year. The transition year will record 12 months of revenue and 10 months of expenditures, producing an accounting contribution of about $10,000,000 to the district's fund balance as part of the year-end reporting change, the presenter said.
The presentation cited changes from recent state legislation, including mandatory teacher salary increases in House Bill 2; the district's proposed general fund includes those increases plus a 1% pay increase for other staff.
Board members moved and passed a resolution establishing the 2025 tax rate at 71.22 cents for maintenance and operations and 32.75 cents for interest and sinking (debt service), for a total rate of $1.0397 per $100 valuation. The board's motion to adopt the budgets carried without a roll-call vote being recorded in the meeting minutes.
In separate action, the board approved a specific budget outlay of $248,775 to meet state compensatory (set-aside) requirements for accelerated instruction in 2025'26, as required under state law. The board also approved a plan to defease up to $22,000,000 of bonds to manage the debt portfolio and reduce interest costs.
Why it matters: adoption of the budget and tax rate sets the district's spending plan, teacher and staff pay increases, and the property tax burden for homeowners. The timing change in the fiscal year is meant to give campuses operating budgets before school opens.
Board discussion and next steps: staff told trustees the tax-rate worksheets and full budget packet are posted on the district website; trustees approved the budgets and tax-rate resolution by voice vote. Administration said budget amendments may follow as enrollment and property valuations change leading up to the October property-value publication and the district's October snapshot of average daily attendance.