Stafford adopts $44.25 million 2025–26 budget, keeps tax rate at $1.002121 and approves bond defeasance

Stafford — The Stafford Municipal School District board of trustees and the Stafford City Council unanimously approved the district's proposed $44,248,041 budget for fiscal 2025–26, kept the combined property tax rate at $1.002121 per $100 of valuation and approved a joint resolution to defease (prepay) portions of the district's outstanding bonds at a joint meeting Aug. 25.

The board voted 7-0 to adopt the budget and the city council voted 7-0; the joint body recorded a combined 14-0 vote on the tax rate. The board also approved, by unanimous roll call, a motion to suspend a rule requiring motion and second to take further action when needed during the meeting.

The budget and tax votes came after a presentation from Superintendent Robert Bostick and Chief Financial Officer Dovron Avzah. "This year, we have a balanced budget," Superintendent Robert Bostick told the joint body. CFO Dovron Avzah said the proposed general fund budget totals $44,248,041 and that the administration projects an ending general-fund balance of $3,914,804 if the budget is adopted as presented.

Nut graf: The actions preserve the district's existing tax burden while funding a mix of salary increases and continuing safety measures, and they set out a plan to use excess debt-service reserves to retire bonds early. Trustees and city leaders emphasized that long-term capital needs ' including roof, HVAC, buses and other infrastructure ' remain unaddressed and will require separate capital financing (a bond) in the future.

Most important actions and votes

- Budget adoption: The SMSD board approved the 2025—26 general fund budget, $44,248,041, by a 7-0 roll call. Vice President Jacqueline Jean Baptiste moved the motion; Trustee Joyce Wilkins seconded it. The motion carried unanimously.

- Tax rate: The joint body set the maintenance-and-operations (M&O) tax rate at 0.7869 and the interest-and-sinking (I&S) (debt) rate at 0.215221, for a total of 1.002121 per $100 valuation. The combined vote was 14-0.

- Defeasance resolution (debt prepayment): Trustees approved a joint resolution to defease certain outstanding obligations, with a 7-0 vote on the board side and a unanimous vote on the city side. Financial advisor Clarence Greer (RBC Capital Markets) described defeasance as an early retirement of debt that reduces future interest costs and can have a positive credit rating impact: "Think of the cash defeasance as an early retirement of debt itself ... we're saving taxpayers billions of dollars in the process," Greer said.

Key budget details presented

- Revenues and reserves: The budget presentation stated the district's beginning and ending general-fund balances and the balanced-budget assumption. CFO Avzah told the board the administration used a 98% property-tax collection rate for estimates and assumed the refined average daily attendance (ADA) would increase by about 50 students for 2025—26.

- Teacher and staff pay: The presentation and trustees noted recent state legislative funding for compensation. The administration incorporated increases the superintendent described as: $4,000 for teachers with three to four years' experience and $8,000 for teachers with five or more years, plus up to a 4% raise for non-teaching staff and market adjustments for administrators. Trustees said the increases were intended to help recruit and retain teachers.

- Debt and defeasance: The district reported outstanding debt of $86,225,000 and described a planned defeasance next year (February 2026) of roughly $3.56 million that the CFO estimated would save about $181,539 in interest. The board noted the district has used excess debt-service balances in recent years to retire older bonds earlier.

- Child nutrition and operations: The district will continue a program providing free breakfast and lunch (and dinner where offered) for students. The child-nutrition fund balance is declining and staff said they will monitor the fund to avoid exceeding state limits (the presentation noted a six-month average-expenditure cap on that fund's balance).

Capital needs and bond history

Board and city leaders repeatedly said that large capital projects remain unfunded: district administrators described failing roofs and HVAC systems, aging buses (an average age cited of about 16 years), plumbing and athletic facilities in need of repair or replacement. Trustees and the superintendent said the district will need a bond election at some future date to address long-term capital needs; they noted prior bond proposals had failed.

Public comment and context

Community commenter Joe Longoria urged more aggressive public outreach during bond campaigns. "If you would have gone out and made sure that these 25 or 50 people ... would have gone out and voted for the bond, we would have made it," Longoria said during the public-comment period, referencing a previous bond election that failed.

Next steps and deadlines

- The district and city preserved the same tax rate as the prior year; the CFO noted state deadlines for tax notices and for adopting the tax rate (the formal adoption deadline for the rate remains Sept. 30).

- Trustees and staff said they will continue to pursue grants (the superintendent and trustees noted two electric buses will be acquired largely with grant funds and charging infrastructure paid with grants) and will prepare a capital-needs assessment to support any future bond election.

- Superintendent Bostick announced his planned retirement effective Dec. 31, 2025; trustees and city leaders publicly thanked him for his service.

Quotes (from meeting transcript)

- "This year, we have a balanced budget," Superintendent Robert Bostick said during the presentation.

- CFO Dovron Avzah: "We are proposing the balanced budget where revenues are equal [to] expenditures, which is $44,248,041."

- Clarence Greer, financial advisor, RBC Capital Markets: "Think of the cash defeasance as a early retirement of debt itself ... we're saving taxpayers billions of dollars in the process."

Documentation and transparency

Trustees and staff repeatedly emphasized that the presentation and the budget materials had been reviewed in prior joint workshops and that both elected bodies had opportunities to ask questions. The CFO walked the joint body through assumptions (collection rate, ADA adjustments, and homestead-exemption changes) and provided multi-year tables for general-fund, debt-service and child-nutrition funds.

Ending: The joint body adopted the budget and tax rate by unanimous votes and authorized the planned defeasance. Trustees and council members said they will continue outreach and planning on capital needs and noted that further action (a bond election) will be required to address long-term infrastructure shortfalls.