Birdville ISD financial update: tax values rise, attendance incentives credited and bond funds identified for roofs, playgrounds and CTE equipment

Katie (presenting a budget update at the Feb. 10 special board meeting) reviewed the district’s debt management practices, tax‑value assumptions and proposed uses for leftover bond and interest earnings. The presentation traced policy CCA(local) as the basis for debt guidance and described a multi‑year capital plan tied to the district’s projected revenues and current tax rate.

Finance staff reported tax value for the district at just under $15.4 billion as of December, representing a roughly 5.9 percent increase from the prior year. Staff said approximately $920 million of homeowner homestead appraisal caps remain in place and explained the projections used a constant tax rate and current law assumptions for state compression of M&O (maintenance and operations) funding.

Katie told the board the district applies $50,000 annually to campus attendance incentives and that staff credited the combination of incentives and an attendance program (referred to in discussion as a "tribunal" oversight) with recent attendance gains. Board discussion linked a 0.33 percentage‑point increase in average daily attendance to roughly $1.5 million in revenue in the presenter’s explanation; staff said they would provide an exact per‑pupil calculation after the meeting.

On debt and bond funds, staff said refundings and prudent management had saved taxpayers about $52.2 million in interest costs to date. They reported roughly $5.5 million remaining from three completed 2022 bond projects that could be applied to other district needs, and estimated available interest earnings and arbitrage‑related funds of about $8 million (staff noted calculations are conservative and will be updated annually). Staff said $13 million shown in an earlier slide included amounts already accounted for and that a subset of the total reflects funds earmarked for arbitrage payments tied to prior issuances.

The presentation listed near‑term capital work planned for the coming summer, including roof replacements (metal, TPO and fluid‑applied systems) at multiple campuses, elevator work, plumbing and electrical updates, HVAC projects and courtyard work at North Birdville Elementary. Facilities staff said they want to standardize some procurement via cooperative purchasing agreements to secure larger vendors that can handle multiple roof types and provide warranties and maintenance continuity.

Staff also reviewed one‑time project funding approved from the Future Needs Fund (about $2.5 million), noting playground replacement work (about $1.3 million), fine‑arts equipment replacements and a remaining balance of roughly $1 million for additional requests. Specific small projects proposed for one‑time funds included speed bumps at the Academy at Cary Francis Thomas, shade installations at Walker Creek and furniture replacements and science lab updates at several middle schools. Curriculum and CTE needs were highlighted: culinary, food‑science and health‑science labs require equipment replacements for program certifications, and the Mullendore STEM Academy requested startup items.

Facilities noted a concrete and sidewalk review is in progress and that some projects might be funded from leftover bond or future allocations. Staff described discussions about potential demolitions (including the Francisco property) once buildings are vacated and the need for asbestos and infrastructure evaluations before demolition decisions. The district said it will delay declaring surplus property until demolition is complete and will return to the board with recommendations.

Trustees and staff discussed timing for a long‑range planning/community input process tied to enrollment trends; superintendent‑level staff said they would present a recommendation to the board in the coming months on community forums and long‑range facility options. Questions from trustees covered the county resurfacing program used for blacktop work, co‑op procurement choices, and the readiness of ongoing capital projects (Mullendore and David E. Smith projects were reported on schedule).

Staff committed to bring an action item concerning arbitrage calculations in March and to update the board annually on arbitrage and interest earnings. No formal board votes were recorded during the presentation; staff asked trustees to consider recommended uses of available funds and to authorize the planned procurement approach for summer projects.