In a Public Hearing of the Lufkin ISD Board of Trustees, the 2018-2019 budget was adopted and the tax rate was approved.
Charlotte Bynum, CFO for Lufkin ISD, said, “This is a culmination of a lot of hard work over the months, not just from the business office, but leaders across the district.”
She went on to say that the district has a healthy fund balance and that the board was able to give raises totaling 3% for the 2018-19 school year for all employees.
The General Fund Revenue for the 2018-2019 budget is 68,692,190 up $777,021 from last year. 60% of the general fund is allocated from the state, 39% from local and 1% federal. The two largest expenditures are direct instruction (55% of budget) and plant maintenance and operation (12% of budget).
Mrs. Bynum proceeded to present the property tax information. The tax rate is as follows:
Maintenance & Operations – $1.17
Interest & Sinking – $0.28
Total: $1.45 per $100 of valuation
The increase in the tax rate of $.237 cents is to pay the debt associated with the bond sale held in July and approved by the voters in May. This will enable the district to begin the process of building a new middle school, multi-purpose facility at the high school and baseball/softball fields at the high school. The budget report indicated that certified property values have had a 6.65% increase in 2018.
The board unanimously passed the 2018-2019 budget, as well as set the tax rate. The board was complimentary of Mrs. Bynum and her team for putting together a balanced budget.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for September 20th.