GISD to hold Aug. 25 public hearing on new tax rate, budget

Gonzales ISD will hold a special called public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25, to propose a total tax rate of 87.5 cents per $100 valuation — an increase of 1.16 cents — and discuss the proposed budget after trustees voted 6-0 to do so at the Monday, Aug. 11 regular meeting.

District chief financial officer Amanda Smith said the district will look at adopting a maintenance & operations rate of 73.08 cents and a debt service rate of 14.42 cents. While the M&O rate will stay the same as in 2024, the debt service rate is 1.16 cents higher than the 13.26 cents adopted last year.

Smith said GISD had received the certified local property values from the appraisal districts in both Gonzales and Caldwell counties and, overall, the taxable values are down by about 2.7 percent due to an increase in two homestead exemptions passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

“Those measures will be on a ballot in November because they do have to be authorized by voters,” Smith said. “Although they did vote for one just a few years ago, I doubt the voters will vote no for an exemption on their taxes this time either.”

In 2024, the total appraised value of all property was $5.942 billion and has increased in 2025 to $6.337 billon — an increase of $394.67 million, or about 6.6 percent. However, Senate Bill 4 increases the general homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, while Senate Bill 23 proposes an additional exemption for homeowners 65 and older or disabled, increasing that amount from $10,000 to $60,000, bringing the total exemption for seniors and disabled individuals who qualify to $200,000.

Because of that, the total taxable value of all property actually decreased from nearly $3.18 billion in 2024 to $3.09 billion in 2025 — a decrease of nearly $85.8 million, or about 2.7 percent.

The average market value of a residence in Gonzales ISD was $179,590 in 2024 and has increased to $194,877 in 2025 — an increase of $15,287 or about 8.5 percent. However, because the amount allowed for a homestead exemption has increased from $100,000 to $140,000, the average taxable value of a home in the district has dropped from $85,447 to just $58,109 — a decrease of $27,338 or nearly 32 percent. As such, the average homestead will see their property taxes drop by $229.30 from $737.75 to $508.45.

Of course, by state law, the dollar amount of school taxes for individuals who are 65 or older or the surviving spouse of such a person cannot be increased above the amount paid in the first year after that individual or their deceased spouse turned 65 — regardless of any changes in tax rate or property value, Smith reminded the board.

From 2018 to 2023, the historical tax rate for the district dropped a combined 35.5 pennies from $1.18 per $100 valuation to 82.47 cents. In November 2023, district voters approved Proposition A calling for issuance of $50.6 million in bonds to pay for renovations and upgrades at all five school campuses, the administration building, maintenance and transportation and the construction of the new Tom Lester Jr. CTE building and Ag Barn (which is currently under way).

“If you'll recall, during the community presentations that we had at that time that we held the election, we reminded (the voters) that although a successful election would equate to a tax increase for the district, that over the last seven years, our tax rate has still declined overall in excess of 30 pennies, and this is including the proposed increase that you have before you this evening,” Smith said.

Smith said the district had forecast a need to increase the tax rate by 8.13 pennies for the increase in debt service to cover the cost of the bond. Due to tax compression by the state and an increase in the homestead exemption as well as interest earned by the district and savings achieved, the debt service tax rate has only had to increase by 5.03 cents — a difference of 3.1 pennies.

Board members also voted 5-0 with one abstention, after an executive session, to adopt a policy which opts out of allowing homeschooled students to take part in UIL activities sponsored by GISD.

Senate Bill 401, which was passed earlier this year, amended Texas law to permit such participation unless a district’s board of trustees adopts a policy to opt out by record vote no later than Sept. 1, 2025. Otherwise, those students would have been allowed to participate in UIL activities for the 2025-26 school year.

Administration had recommended opting out to “maintain consistent oversight of academic, attendance, and conduct standards for all UIL participants; to preserve the integrity of extracurricular programs as an extension of the district’s educational mission for enrolled students; and to avoid administrative and logistical complexities associated with managing eligibility and compliance for non-enrolled students.”