Victoria ISD board adopts 2025–26 budgets and approves property tax rate of 0.8035 per $100

At a special meeting Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, the Victoria Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the district’s 2025–26 budgets for maintenance and operations (M&O), interest and sinking (I&S), and child nutrition, and adopted a property tax rate of 0.8035 per $100 of assessed taxable value (0.6969 M&O; 0.1066 I&S). The motions passed without dissent, with roll calls and voice votes recorded during the session.

The M&O fund was presented with revenues and balanced expenditures of $139,045,858, the board was told. The district's maximum state-compressed M&O rate is 0.6169; the district continues to collect an additional 0.08 per $100 previously approved by the board and voters, producing the stated 0.6969 M&O rate. I&S revenue was projected at about $9.9 million with expenditures “a little over $10 million,” and the district plans to use roughly $160,000 of I&S fund balance to maintain the 0.1066 rate for debt service. Child nutrition (federal funding under the community eligibility provision) was budgeted at $9,904,196 in both revenue and expenditures.

“The expenditures are also a balanced budget at $139,045,858,” Michelle Yates, chief financial officer, told the board during the presentation. Yates reviewed the three funds together and described the district’s tax-rate composition and the planned use of fund balance to smooth debt-service payments.

Board members discussed how the rates are presented under state law. Earlier in the meeting staff explained that the district will place a $140,000 homestead exemption measure on the November ballot; the administration estimated that, for the district’s reported average home value of $239,402, that exemption would reduce taxable value for an average homeowner and produce an estimated annual savings of about $280 if the measure passes.

The board moved and approved the budgets with a motion from Miss Nelson, seconded by Miss Marshall. The board later moved to adopt the 0.8035 property tax rate; the motion language described that adoption as “effectively a 6.88% increase in the tax rate,” while staff earlier said the rate being adopted matches the prior year’s published rate. Board members also discussed the state’s “no new revenue” language and how homestead exemptions affect taxable values and required notice language.

Trustees approved several related items during the same meeting: - Final budget amendments as presented (motion by Ms. Pruitt, seconded by Ms. Bell); approved unanimously. - Authorization of account signers for U.S. Bank bond accounts, naming Sheila Coyaso (superintendent), Michelle Yates (chief financial officer), Sherry Cole and district staff accountants as signers (motion by Ms. Pruitt; seconded by Ms. Marshall); approved unanimously. - Consent agenda items as presented by the superintendent (motion by Ms. Pruitt; seconded by Ms. Bell); approved unanimously.

Yates and other staff also addressed questions on teacher pay and state funding. Board members and staff described state legislative funding of roughly $4 billion for public education that included targeted teacher-pay dollars; staff said Victoria ISD’s share resulted in state payments in fixed-dollar amounts rather than percentage increases. According to staff remarks, teachers in the district received state-funded supplements in the form of flat amounts that vary by experience level: roughly $2,500 for teachers with less experience and about $5,000 for more-experienced teachers, with districts of different sizes receiving different per-teacher amounts under the state formula. Officials said the district supplemented and administered the payments consistent with state guidance.

Staff also discussed the district’s fund balances. The district reported approximately $45 million in M&O fund balance (subject to recommended reserve days of 60–75) and about $5–6 million in I&S fund balance. Staff noted that some recent fund-balance increases statewide reflected one-time federal ESSER stimulus funds and that district planners are treating current balances conservatively to preserve reserves for emergencies and scheduled debt payments.

Trustees also took personnel actions at the meeting after a closed session, approving multiple administrator hires and written contracts for administrators to receive outside compensation for personal services under Texas Education Code Section 11.006(c). Those items were approved unanimously.

The board adjourned after the votes. The district posted budget documents on the Victoria ISD business/budgets web pages, and staff said those documents include detailed fund schedules and the teacher-salary scale used to calculate local percentages.

Ending: The adopted budget and tax-rate actions set district funding and levy levels for fiscal 2025–26 pending the outcome of the November homestead-exemption ballot measure and future board budget reviews. Board members said they will provide more detailed teacher-salary breakdowns and accountability-score explanations on request.