Santa Fe ISD board adopts 2025 tax rate, orders voter election and approves bond propositions

Santa Fe Independent School District trustees on Tuesday adopted a total 2025 tax rate of $1.1014 per $100 of taxable value and voted to call a voter-approved tax ratification election for Nov. 4, 2025. The board also approved a three-proposition school bond to appear on the same ballot, entered a joint-election contract with Galveston County, certified the 2025 appraisal roll, and renewed a facilities agreement with the Santa Fe Historical Foundation.

The board’s action on the tax rate lowers the district’s rate by an effective 3.9 percent compared with last year. District staff told trustees the composite rate is made up of a $0.7522 maintenance-and-operations (M&O) component (down two cents) and a $0.3492 debt-service component (down two cents). Staff also said the rate as presented includes provisions for disaster-related pennies (the district described these as seven additional pennies in total: three “gold” pennies and four “copper” pennies under the state formula). Because the proposed rate crosses the voter-approval threshold under Texas truth-in-taxation rules, the board approved placing the question before voters on Nov. 4, 2025.

Why it matters: even though the district’s tax rate was presented as a legal “increase” in required ballot language, district staff explained that the adopted rate will reduce local collections by an estimated $150,000 compared with last year and that the state is expected to make up most of the difference through the designated disaster/golden pennies. The board asked district staff to publish explanatory materials for the public noting the apparent legal language versus the practical effect on taxpayers.

Details of the ballot items and related approvals - Bond propositions: Trustees approved calling a bond election with three propositions to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot: Proposition B — $9,725,000 for maintenance, capital repairs and safety infrastructure additions; Proposition C — $3,130,000 for technology infrastructure, systems and equipment; Proposition D — $4,780,000 for transportation (buses and fleet replacement). District staff said all three propositions reflect “basic needs” identified by multiple community bond steering committees and that, if all pass, the district would still realize a net tax-rate decrease. - Joint election contract: The board authorized a joint-election contract with Galveston County so county election services will administer the Nov. 4 election and the district will share costs (the county will use the museum as one of the voting centers). Trustees discussed the number of polling places and early voting locations; staff said early voting locations within the district will include the museum and the county annex and that day-of-election locations typically number in the county’s range (roughly 20 countywide). - Appraisal roll and collection assumptions: Trustees certified a preliminary 2025 appraisal roll with a certified value reported as $2,268,947,941 and noted about $158,966,869 still under appraisal review (ARB or court). Staff reported an expected taxable value for levy calculations of $2,427,914,810 and said the district assumes a 97% tax collection rate based on historical experience. - Facilities agreement: The board renewed the facilities agreement with the Santa Fe Historical Foundation for the old museum property and approved extending the contract term (the district described a proposed 10-year term while retaining the board’s right to end the agreement with notice). The foundation must maintain insurance naming the district and generally cover its own operating or improvement costs; district staff said basic utilities and smaller maintenance items are sometimes shared depending on scope and cost. - Consent items: Trustees approved the consent agenda unanimously, which included routine annual renewals and budget amendments. Staff explained budget amendment No. 1 corrected function-code classifications for debt-service items that had been entered on the wrong function-code template; a separate amendment increased Nutrition Services revenue after the district sold a vehicle (staff cited a $40,000 vehicle purchase tied to Nutrition Services). Trustees were told several budget moves reallocated funds from underused lines to campuses and departments that needed them.

Trustee and staff comments District finance staff (identified in the meeting as "Alex") walked trustees through the tax-rate calculations, the debt/M&O split and the state rules that require the ballot language to say “rate increase” even when the effective change is a decrease. Trustees repeatedly emphasized communicating the practical effect — lower local collections and state backfill — to voters, promising published materials and website explanations.

All motions listed above carried unanimously. The board set the canvass date for the Nov. 4 election no later than Nov. 15, 2025.

Ending: Trustees completed all regular-agenda items and moved to a round of brief communications, congratulating staff on the start of the school year and encouraging community outreach ahead of the November election.