Georgetown ISD finance team previews 2026–27 budget calendar, enrollment and tax‑rate tradeoffs
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Summary
Budget workshop #1 showed the district used a demographer projection of 14,131 and an ADA assumption of 13,141, reported current enrollment slightly lower than projection, and presented long‑term funding context including basic‑allotment trends, ESSER phase‑out, copper‑pennies mechanics and recapture implications for local tax policy.
At its Dec. 1 workshop, Georgetown ISD’s finance team walked trustees through the first of five budget workshops for the 2026–27 budget cycle, giving an enrollment snapshot, a budget calendar and a primer on long‑term state funding mechanics that will shape local choices on pay and taxes.
Speaker 6 opened the budget portion by noting the demographer’s projection of 14,131 students (the figure used for the district’s budget assumptions) and an average‑daily‑attendance (ADA) budget assumption of 13,141. Staff reported the district’s current enrollment at roughly 14,013 students, which staff said is 118 students below the projection; ADA was reported slightly lower than budget.
Speaker 8, the district finance lead, framed the bigger picture: over multiple biennia the basic allotment per WADA has not kept pace with inflation in real terms, and the federal ESSER (COVID) funds that temporarily bolstered budgets are largely gone. He illustrated how nominal increases can mask real declines once inflation is applied and said that payroll comprises the district’s largest expense (about 88 percent of cost is people, he said).
Trustees pressed the tradeoffs that follow from the funding picture. Speaker 8 explained property‑tax options and terminology used by the state: the compressed M&O rate required to receive the basic allotment, "golden pennies" (an 8¢ portion every district can levy that is not subject to recapture), and "copper pennies" (additional voter‑approved pennies subject to local election) that generate local revenue but can increase state recapture exposure. "Each penny is worth $900,000," Speaker 8 said in his model for Georgetown; trustees asked staff for scenarios showing how much additional recurring payroll each penny could support.
The finance presentation also covered debt service, hold‑harmless payments tied to homestead‑exemption changes, and the mechanics of defeasance/refunding options. Trustees discussed that lowering the tax rate now can reduce taxpayer burden in the short term but may increase interest costs and overall long‑term payments if it lengthens financing. Speaker 8 said staff will provide scenario modeling in February, including options for pay‑raise scenarios, market adjustments and the fiscal impact of opening two new campuses next year.
What’s next: Staff will return in February with numeric scenarios for wages (e.g., market adjustments and 2 percent examples), the 2026–27 draft budget numbers, and modeled impacts of potential tax‑rate choices and route/transportation options.