Perryton ISD adopts proposed tax rate, approves 2025–26 compensation plan

The Perryton Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to adopt a proposed property tax rate and approved the district's 2025'26 compensation plan at a board meeting where trustees also set a public hearing on the budget and authorized end-of-year budget amendments.

Board action matters because it sets the rates and budget direction that pay staff and fund operations for the coming school year, and it schedules the public hearing required under truth-in-taxation procedures.

On the tax rate, trustees set the maintenance and operations (M&O) rate at $0.7122 per $100 of taxable value and the interest and sinking (I&S) rate at $0.31 per $100 of taxable value, for a combined proposed rate of $1.0222 per $100. Board members described the total rate as roughly equivalent to last year's rate ("a smidge lower" as characterized during discussion). The board voted to adopt the proposed tax rate based on certified taxable values as presented; the motion carried 6-0. The board also approved publishing notice and placing a public meeting on Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. to receive public comment on the proposed tax rate and budget; that motion carried 6-0.

District staff presented the budget totals and revenue composition to trustees. The presentation reported total revenues and expenses of approximately $22,000,008 (presented as $22,000,008.72 in the packet), composed of local revenue (including small miscellaneous and gate-fee revenue), roughly $13 million in state funding, about $160,000 in federal funding, and transfers of a little over $500,000 (including federal and state program transfers such as Title I, II and IV). Staff noted that certified taxable values reported by the appraisal district include a $40,000 homestead exemption increase this year, which affects comparisons to last year's certified values.

On payroll and compensation, the board approved a resolution adopting the district's 2025'1026 compensation plan. The plan incorporates the state's teacher retention allotment (with $4,000 for some experience tiers and $8,000 for teachers 5+ years) and the staff support retention allotment; it also extends additional local stipends so that certain employees who did not qualify for full state-funded amounts still receive raises. District staff said the staff-support retention allotment for this district is about $75,000. The district proposed a $1 per hour raise for noncertified (hourly) staff; staff estimated the local cost for that increase at roughly $450,000. Specific counts and line items provided in the packet included 30 teachers with 0'2 years of experience (budgeted at $1,000 each, $30,000), 22 teachers in the 3'4 years tier (state-funded $88,000), and 80 teachers 5+ years (state-funded portion $640,000). Staff said 13 teachers were in categories the state would not fully fund, resulting in a local cost of about $104,000. Trustees voted 6-0 to approve the compensation plan resolution.

Trustees also voted to authorize the superintendent to approve end-of-year budget amendments for the current fiscal year to cover routine final adjustments and ensure bills received before fiscal close are paid. Board discussion characterized these amendments as standard "cleanup" items to address line-item overages or late-arriving invoices; the motion to grant the superintendent that authority carried (vote recorded as carried without individual roll-call names).

Board members and staff discussed capital and one-time needs in the budget packet, including transportation (buses), extracurricular purchases (band instruments and hurdles), maintenance equipment requests (a riding lawn mower and a maintenance van), and junior high stage lighting replacement or repair. Staff noted limited capital spending in the proposed budget and highlighted that instruction accounts for the largest share of expenses (about 52%) with maintenance about 12%.

District staff emphasized the effect of House Bill 2 provisions and changes to state allotments on the budget and payroll decisions. Trustees said the district worked to extend raises locally to employees who did not qualify fully under the state allotments, while also absorbing increases in payroll from step raises and PERA-related increases. Staff cautioned that enrollment variability and ongoing operational cost increases will require attention to attrition and position adjustments in coming months.

The board set Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. for the required public hearing on the proposed tax rate and budget notice. Additional administrative and procedural items, including finalizing the newspaper publication of the notice and precise end-of-year amendment limits, were deferred to the meeting packet and the public hearing process.

The board recorded unanimous votes (6-0) for the main motions that appeared on the agenda: placing the public hearing on the Aug. 25 agenda, adopting the proposed tax rate based on certified values, approving the compensation resolution for 2025'26, and carrying authority for end-of-year budget amendments.