Stafford property owners are set to pay the same school tax rate for a third consecutive year. The City Council and Stafford Municipal School District Board of Trustees were scheduled to jointly adopt a $45.1 million budget at their Monday, Aug. 24 meeting. The ad valorem rate would hold at $1.002121 per $100 valuation.
Official minutes have not yet been posted. The joint meeting agenda confirms the vote was on the docket at 7 p.m., and last year's identical process passed 14-0. The rate breaks down to $0.786900 for maintenance and operations and $0.215221 for debt service.
The vote would cap weeks of joint workshops that began June 25 and continued through Aug. 11 and Aug. 18 before the formal adoption session. Under Texas Education Code Section 11.303, Stafford's city council must jointly levy the school district's property taxes, a structure unique in Texas because SMSD is the state's only municipal school district. The council was also set to adopt a separate ordinance levying the taxes for tax year 2026.
The district carries $127,994,392 in outstanding bond debt running through 2049, with annual debt service of $6,995,836.
Falling property values shift funding mix
SMSD's certified taxable value dropped 3.16% to $4,179,488,795, down from $4.32 billion the prior year. That decline means the district collects less locally and draws more from the state. Projected state revenue jumps to $10.7 million from $8.7 million in the prior budget workshop packet, driven largely by increased Foundation School Program and Teacher Retention Allotment funding.
The district still owes the state under Texas' recapture system. The budget includes $1,573,469 in "Robin Hood" payments.
What's in the spending plan
The balanced budget projects $32.2 million in tax collections, assuming a 98% collection rate. Classroom instruction accounts for 54% of expenditures at $24.5 million, and payroll makes up 77% of total spending.
Employees will not receive across-the-board raises. The budget funds only teacher step increases, estimated at $101,996, and bumps the district's TRS Active Care health insurance contribution from $250 to $280 per month per employee, adding roughly $96,480 in costs.
Enrollment is projected to hold steady at 3,532 students.
Superintendent Dr. Adam Stephens and Chief Financial Officer Dovran Ovezov presented the budget at the Aug. 24 meeting. At last year's equivalent session on Aug. 25, 2025, both bodies approved the identical tax rate 14-0, with the council's levy ordinance passing 7-0.
What's next
The new fiscal year begins Tuesday, Sept. 1. A separate Special Called City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 2610 South Main St., where Mayor Ken Mathew will present the City of Stafford's own FY 2026-2027 budget, a distinct process from the school district's spending plan.
