The Dickinson Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $144,000,000 proposed budget for the 2025–26 school year, set an M&O tax rate of $0.722 and an I&S (debt service) rate of $0.42 for a total tax rate of $1.142, and passed an order to call a voter-approval tax-rate election for November after the adopted rate exceeded the state threshold.

Board President Corey Magliolo presided over the meeting as district staff presented the budget. Kelly, a district staff member who presented the figures, said the district calculated the budget on an average daily attendance (ADA) of 11,600 — an estimate based on 92% attendance of a potential enrollment of 12,600 students.

The budget allocates about 84% of expenditures to salaries and benefits, with 7% for professional and contracted services and 9% for supplies and other operating costs, including property, flood and vehicle insurance. The plan includes the teacher raise mandated by the legislature and a 2% raise for other employees, plus about $500,000 in startup costs for a new elementary campus and the Career and Technical Education center. The district will also begin payments on the CECO loan in the coming year, staff said.

Food and Nutrition Services is budgeted separately in Fund 240. The food service budget shows a proposed deficit of $3,400,000 for the year; staff said the Department of Agriculture approved use of a large portion of the fund balance and that federal funds supply the majority of the program's revenue, with roughly 3% from the state and a small share from local meal purchases.

Debt service revenue is primarily local tax dollars; the presentation showed total debt service of approximately $35,225,000. Staff said interest payments decreased by about $2.2 million while principal payments increased nearly $4.6 million; the district plans another defeasance this year and included that in the numbers.

Superintendent Dr. Brown and the district’s business officers recommended adoption of the budget, and the board voted to approve the resolution as presented. The motion to adopt the 2025–26 budget passed unanimously.

Following budget adoption, the board approved the proposed tax-rate ordinance. Dr. Brown presented the recommended M&O and I&S rates and explained the need for a voter-approval election after the adopted rate exceeded the state’s no-new-revenue/ voter-approval threshold. The board voted unanimously to call a voter-approval tax-rate election on the November general election date.

The board also approved final budget amendments for the 2024–25 fiscal year (which the presenters described as routine reallocations with no effect on fund balance). That vote was unanimous.

Actions recorded at the meeting show all budget, tax-rate and related motions passed by unanimous vote. The board did not receive public comment on the budget or the tax rate; no speakers signed up to address those agenda items.

The district’s administration noted the budget process began in January, with building- and department-level input, and credited human resources and payroll staff for assembling the personnel-heavy budget. The board’s adoption sets the district’s spending, tax rates and the path to the voter-approval election for the 2025–26 fiscal year.