School district discusses tax rate

Budgetary planning is in full swing for Gonzales County taxing entities, and that includes the Gonzales ISD school board, who discussed the issue during a special called meeting Monday, Aug. 15.

In their previous scheduled meeting, the school board had tabled two items for discussion.

One big issue of concern was the tax rate and setting public hearings for the 2022-23 GISD budget.

GISD chief financial officer, Amanda Smith, projects a “historical” low tax rate of $0.9883 per $100 valuation; 19.17 pennies down from the tax rate of $1.18 in 2018-2019 set five years ago.

GISD Superintendent Dr. Elmer Avellaneda stated this kind of tax rate decrease is “abnormal” for any district across the state or the nation, and it has put the district in a great position tax-wise. Avellaneda added that proposed levies are historically low as well.

The board unanimously approved the public hearing on the proposed tax rate be scheduled for Monday, Aug. 29, at 5 p.m.

In other business, the board approved a three-year agreement with PCAP insurance with a wind and hail deductible buydown included within the agreement.