Willis ISD finance staff warns of lower local tax collections, outlines budget amendment and costs for new campus

Gary Motte, a district finance staff member, told the Willis ISD Board of Trustees on March 19 that the district will amend its 2024–25 budget to reflect lower-than-expected local tax collections after two large corrections to the county appraisal roll and other state-level changes that affect school funding.

Motte said the district had based its adopted 2024–25 revenue estimates on certified tax values it received last summer but later learned the county appraisal roll was corrected to remove a duplicate listing worth about $242,000,000 in taxable value and, more recently, that a newly added account worth about $92,000,000 will be treated as tax-exempt. Motte said those two corrections together will reduce local tax revenue by roughly $1.9 million in current-year projections and that he will bring a budget amendment to the board to reflect the lower collections.

Motte also told trustees that a state property-value recalculation submitted by Montgomery County for certain homestead exemptions could produce additional state funds for county districts. He said Willis ISD has appealed the 2023 calculation and that a successful appeal could yield roughly $2 million for the district; the county has already used the recalculated method for 2024, which Motte said increased state aid to the district in the current year.

Nut graf: The board approved a budget amendment that lowers projected local tax revenue and adjusts state-aid and other line items to align the district’s operating budget with updated property valuations and mid-year state calculations. The changes came as district finance staff also outlined the material budgetary effects of opening an additional middle campus in 2025–26.

Trustees approved the amendment later in the meeting. Motte summarized how the revenue reductions interact with other revenue changes and expenditure adjustments: he anticipates a net general-fund revenue projection for 2024–25 of roughly $89.4 million after the changes, and he recommended adding back a portion of previously budgeted funding for vacant positions now that state aid and other items look more favorable than when the budget was adopted in August.

Motte reviewed enrollment (average daily attendance, or ADA) assumptions used to build revenues: adopted figures reflected about 8,400 ADA for 2024–25, the district’s November recalculation showed ADA above 8,500, and preliminary planning for 2025–26 used an ADA of roughly 8,750 (Motte said he intentionally used a conservative growth estimate). He told the board that any significant change in ADA would materially affect state aid and the district’s capacity to add staff and open the new campus.

Board members asked for clarification on who determines tax exemptions and roll corrections; Motte repeatedly attributed those determinations to the county appraisal district and said the school district does not control property valuation decisions. He also reminded the board that many of the revenue and tax-rate outcomes depend on pending state legislation, including proposals to raise the basic allotment and proposals tied to education savings accounts or vouchers.

Motte described two debt-related actions the district expects to bring forward in April: a defeasance (early payoff) of targeted 2016 bond series debt that staff estimate would use about $4.0 million in cash and save roughly $3.1 million in future interest, and a recommendation to issue a portion of previously voter-approved bonds this summer (with the option to sell part in 2026 rather than all at once) to preserve flexibility and potentially lower borrowing costs. He said the district plans to ask the board in April to authorize the defeasance and to approve a recommended bond issuance approach.

Motte also outlined preliminary cost estimates for opening a new middle-school campus (referred to in materials as Calfee/CALVI in various places): he showed an early $3.6 million estimate in personnel and operations for that campus, with additional one-time and recurring costs for child nutrition, utilities, custodial support and insurance. Motte said those figures are preliminary and that staff will refine them before the August adopted budget.

Ending: The board voted 6–0 to approve the recommended amendment to the 2024–25 general-fund budget, which aligns local revenue and state-aid projections with the updated appraisal-roll changes and the latest state calculations. Motte and district staff said they will bring additional refinements at future workshops as state legislation and certified property valuations become final.