The Rockdale ISD will present its new budget in a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, but this year it won’t provide any suspense about raising taxes.
RISD has already pledged there will not be a tax increase from the current $1.36 rate.
That pledge was made earlier this year when trustees were discussing construction of the new football field.
The budget hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Central Administration Building, to be followed by the regular monthly session.
STADIUM—In March, Dr. Denise Monzingo, RISD superintendent, said the school board was considering the new stadium project, which is now well underway. (See photos, pages 1A and 6B).
She said estimated expenditures were pegged at $5-million but that the project would not require either a bond issue or a tax increase.
At the March regular session, trustees approved the plan, to be funded with maintenance tax notes, which don’t come out of the interest and sinking (INS) side of budgets and don’t require bond elections.
The action in which trustees okayed the plan to issue maintenance tax notes specified no tax increase.
“Plans are essentially to take the money from fund balance then pay it back over a period of years,” Dr. Monzingo said.
Trustees have approved a 12-year payback schedule with an option to repay the funds early.
She noted the district is able to utilize the “no bonds” approach because the project is classified as maintenance. That’s because it’s on the same footprint as the stadium it is replacing, not at a new location.
The new stadium is being oriented north and south, not east and west as was the former facility.
AGENDA—Items on the regular session agenda include the monthly update on the stadium construction project, school safety update and possible action on adopting general, food service and debt service budgets for 2018-19.
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