Fort Bend ISD homeowners in Missouri City and Stafford will pay about $179 less in school taxes for the 2026-27 tax year after the board of trustees approved a lower property tax rate on Monday, Sept. 28.

The new rate of $0.9969 per $100 of taxable property value is a 5.68% drop from the current $1.0569 rate, Community Impact reported. For a home with the district-wide average taxable value of $293,827, that works out to $15 less per month.

The biggest driver: seven "disaster pennies" added to the maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate after Hurricane Beryl expired at the end of the 2025-26 tax year. That dropped the M&O rate 7 cents, bringing it to $0.7169 per $100.

A 1-cent increase in the interest and sinking (I&S) rate partially offset the drop. That penny funds the $1.26 billion bond voters approved in May 2023 for new schools, a natatorium and safety upgrades. The net result is a 6-cent decrease overall.

A deficit with no room to raise rates

The lower rate comes even as the district faces a $32.8 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026-27, with $857.9 million in revenue against $898 million in expenditures. The board approved that budget earlier this year.

Chief Financial Officer Kris Lynn told the board that state formulas and property values, not district discretion, dictate the maximum rate. The adopted rate is the highest the district could set without triggering a voter-approval election.

"You'd think if you have a deficit, you need more money and so you would want to increase the tax rate," Lynn said at the Sept. 28 meeting. "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 staff have looked at cutting transportation routes, utilities and staffing levels to match lower student enrollment before asking voters for a tax increase.

Regional picture

Fort Bend ISD's cut mirrors a broader trend. Houston ISD was set to vote Thursday, Oct. 8 on lowering its rate by nearly 4 cents, according to ABC13. Meanwhile, five other area districts, including Cy-Fair and Channelview ISDs, are asking voters to approve rate increases on the Tuesday, Nov. 3 ballot, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The $179 annual savings figure is based on the district-wide average taxable value. Individual bills will vary depending on homestead exemptions and each property's appraised value.