Del Valle ISD staff reports July finances and outlines proposed 2025–26 tax rate; public hearing set for Sept. 16

Ms. Dina Edgar, a member of Del Valle ISD finance staff, presented the district’s monthly financial report for the period ending July 31 and an overview of the proposed 2025–26 tax rate during the school board meeting Sept. 2.

Edgar said the district’s investment portfolio carried a weighted average yield of 4.41% and that nearly 98% of the portfolio is held in securities maturing within one year as the district refrained from reinvesting in longer-term instruments because of cash-flow considerations. “In the month of July the district earned $1,100,000 in interest earnings,” Edgar said. She reported July tax collections of $106,000 but noted the fund balance reflected negative activity due to refunds related to 2019 and 2023 tax years; final fund-balance figures will be available after the year-end close and the external audit expected in November.

On the tax rate, Edgar summarized recent state statutory changes and their effects on local property-tax calculations. She cited Senate Bill 4 (raising the residential homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000) and Senate Bill 23 (increasing the exemption for taxpayers 65 and older and disabled from $10,000 to $60,000), and she noted those measures include hold‑harmless provisions in the school‑finance system but that overlapping hold‑harmless provisions from prior sessions do not completely eliminate local revenue loss. Edgar also referenced House Bill 9, which expanded an exemption for income‑producing tangible personal property and contains no hold‑harmless offset.

The district adopted a general fund budget of $140,700,000 and a debt‑service budget of $64,400,000 in June. To support those budgets, Edgar said the district is proposing a maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate of $0.6189 and an interest and sinking (I&S) rate of $0.33 per $100 of valuation, for a combined rate of $0.9489. Edgar said the proposed total rate represents a 4.8‑cent reduction from the prior year and that the M&O rate has declined roughly 42 cents since 2018. She noted Del Valle’s property values rose about 17% year‑over‑year and about fourfold over 10 years, with the top 10 taxpayers (including Tesla and Tito’s) representing roughly 44% of the local tax base.

Board President Wagner and trustees asked clarifying questions about election timing for “golden pennies” and the possibility of later voter propositions; staff clarified such elections must occur in November. Edgar said the board will receive the proposal as information that evening and that the district will hold a public hearing on Sept. 16 before the board would adopt a final rate.

Staff did not request board action on the rate at the Sept. 2 meeting; the matter will return for consideration after the Sept. 16 public hearing.