Birdville ISD reviews budget outlook, enrollment and state bills that could alter school funding

Birdville Independent School District trustees on May 8 received a budget workshop briefing on April property-value estimates, enrollment and attendance projections, special education growth, debt-service and recent legislative proposals that could change school funding.

Katie, a district finance staff member presenting the report, said April values prompted the district to increase its preliminary property-value growth assumption from about 4% to 5.36% but cautioned that the April run is early and appeals and later updates will change the numbers. "So with the April taxes, our proposed total tax rate is 1.1815," she said, noting that the law requires districts to calculate and post multiple tax-rate figures and that the publicly posted "no new revenue" rate shows taxes only and can be confusing to taxpayers.

Why it matters: the appraisal updates, projected enrollment and changes to state law affect how much local tax revenue the district keeps and how much state funding it receives. Staff told trustees the district is projecting a modest projected deficit in 2025–26 under current assumptions but expects to…