Property tax change less than Starbucks coffee

SHEPHERD — Homeowners in the Shepherd school district will see on average a $3.31 increase in property taxes per $100,000 value based on the new tax rate passed by the Shepherd ISD Board of Managers.

Despite the slight increase, the board on Sept. 19 approved a tax rate of .9679 per $100 valuation, down from the 2023-34 level of 1.001.

Sonya Fulgham, Chief Financial Officer for the district, said the increase in tax revenue will be due to higher property values as determined by the San Jacinto County Appraisal District. That translates to a 7.89 percent increase for homeowners.

The 2024-25 budget for the district includes $11,173,533 for instruction, $3,734,919 for instructional support, $1,158,743 for administration and $6,631,270 for operations, among other things.

In other business, the board:

• discussed the creation of a new strategic compensation program for ESC Region 6 to reward highly performing staff based on student outcome;
• approved a travel form for students attending the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis Oct. 23-27;
• approved adjunct staff and extracurricular events that qualify for extracurricular days; and
• approved the purchase of study materials for the nursing science program.