Red Oak ISD trustees adopt proposed 2026–27 budgets after public hearing on tax rate

Red Oak Independent School District trustees, after a required public hearing, approved the district—s proposed budgets for the 2026—27 fiscal year and asked staff to prepare tax-rate calculations once final property values are certified.

Dr. Johnston, the district—s chief financial officer, presented the budget at the public hearing, telling the board the district is working with preliminary local property-value estimates that rose sharply in the most recent study and that the district is considering a maintenance-and-operations (M&O) rate near 0.7072 and an interest-and-sinking (I&S) rate near 0.3481 as preliminary planning figures. "Right now we—re looking at maybe a tax rate of 0.7072 for the M&O and 0.3481 for the I&S component," he said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Preliminary local taxable values spiked compared with last year—s estimates, producing a projected $20 million increase in local tax revenue while reducing state aid by roughly $19 million under the state—s funding formulas. That countervailing effect—sometimes called recapture in Texas school finance—means higher local collections can reduce state allotments. Dr. Johnston told trustees the district will finalize the budget and the voter-approved/no-new-revenue tax calculations in August or September after certified values are released.

Key details: Dr. Johnston said district enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) influenced revenue estimates. The fall snapshot showed 6,665 students; staff used a conservative ADA projection of about 6,250 for next year and built in a modest increase tied to an instructional-day change and summer-school attendance. He also outlined expenditure drivers: a $1,000 per-step increase for teachers, a $1,000 longevity stipend for staff above step 30, a 3% midpoint raise for certain instructional and administrative staff, and six net additional general-fund positions. The general fund, student nutrition fund and debt service fund were presented as balanced or nearly balanced under the proposed plan.

Trustee reaction and next steps: Trustees asked for clarification on the property-value estimates and the state—s certified study; Dr. Johnston reiterated the district is monitoring protests and the CAD/study differences that drive recapture calculations. The board voted to adopt the proposed general fund, student-nutrition fund and debt-service budgets and to designate the chief financial officer to compute the formal tax-rate documents required for public notice (motion approved unanimously). Final tax-rate decisions will follow after July property-value certification.

Budget items mentioned during the hearing included the district—s continued goal to keep fund balance above 25%, anticipated bond payments and the impact of new campus openings on utility and insurance costs.

The board approved the budgets as presented and will revisit rate-setting once the county and state property-value certifications are complete.