Fort Bend ISD board approves tax rate cut to $0.9969 per $100 valuation, saving average homeowner $179 a year
The Fort Bend ISD board of trustees voted to lower the district's property tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27, setting it at $0.9969 per $100 valuation. The rate is 6 cents below the $1.0569 rate approved for fiscal year 2025-26, a 5.68% decrease.
Chief Financial Officer Kris Lynn said the new rate means residents will pay about $179 less per year, or roughly $15 per month, on the district's average taxable home value of $293,827.
The adopted rate is split into two parts. The maintenance and operations portion, which pays for salaries, utilities and maintenance, is $0.7169 per $100 valuation. The interest and sinking portion, which covers debt for construction, renovations and land purchases, is $0.28 per $100 valuation.
The M&O rate dropped by 7 cents because seven temporary disaster pennies tied to Hurricane Beryl expired this year. The I&S rate rose by 1 cent to help pay down the $1.26 billion bond package voters approved in 2023.
The vote comes as the district faces a $32.8 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year. Even so, Lynn said the adopted rate is the highest the district can set without triggering an election under state rules tied to property values and funding formulas.
“You’d think if you have a deficit, you need more money and so you would want to increase the tax rate,” Lynn said. “Most of the formulas that dictate what our tax rates can be don’t allow us that discretion, so we would have to turn to voters.”
Lynn said district officials looked first at reducing spending before considering any request to voters. Those reviews included changes to transportation routes, utilities and staffing levels to reflect lower student enrollment.
He also said Fort Bend ISD’s rate is lower than those of neighboring districts, citing differences in property values and the amount of bond debt each district carries.
