1.  Where exactly can I find the information on the BISD website?

Visit Brenhamisd.net, then scroll down the homepage until you find the VATRE/Bond 2025 icon and click it. For a deeper dive, click on the Strategic Committee icon, for notes and handouts from every Strategic Committee meeting.​

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2. In reference to the $2.45 M for maintenance and operations, how long will it last? Is it ongoing?​

The VATRE would raise the tax rate to generate additional funds, and that rate would remain in place until the School Board adopts a new tax rate in the future, or voters approve a different rate if required by law.  In other words, the VATRE would become the new tax rate going forward and would not change until another one is approved.  ​

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3. Is the $2.45 M going to CURRENT teacher or to hire NEW teachers?

The $2.45 million generated by the VATRE can only be used for M&O costs (BISD operating costs).  BISD’s operating budget is 80-85% personnel costs. Therefore the majority of this sum would be used toward current staff and hiring new teachers in the future, ultimately improving student performance academically.  This includes teacher, instructional aides, and support staff. The District’s current adopted budget already includes teacher pay raises, based on the assumption that the VATRE will pass, because the budget must be approved before the election in November.

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4. In reference to the $39M Bond, have we done a calculation of the red and orange projects? How much of this is for new schools?

Without receiving proposals, we can’t know the exact project costs. Laws regarding publicly funded projects outline the options for the allowable ways to take public bids on these types of projects.  Members of the Strategic Planning Committee with construction expertise have used their knowledge and resources to estimate that the District should strive to complete the projects coded as red and orange within the $39 million, moving to yellow and green-coded projects next should bids be more favorable.  It is important to acknowledge that waiting longer to pass a similar bond will result in less value received, as costs continue to increase.

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5. I saw a plumbing system that takes new pipe and installs it in the old pipe. Is that what we are using?

Some of the projects on the color-coded list will require engineering, others may be completed through licensed trades or under the direction of a construction manager. The specific design for these repairs and replacements will go through a process where each color-coded item is evaluated by professionals.  The specific design for the “fix” will be determined based on the greatest long-term value to the District, based on quality, life-cycle cost, maintainability/ease of maintenance with respect to part and equipment, and cost.

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6. I went to a couple of the Strategic Planning meetings, and I’ve looked at the pictures and heard the talk. This is a critical situation. If we don’t pass this, it will be a full other year before we can do this again. Is that right?

Yes and no. With respect to the VATRE, you are correct. A VATRE may only be voted on in November elections, so if that is not passed in this upcoming election, the community will have to decide whether to vote on this again next November. With respect to the Capital Improvement Bond, our understanding is that the community may choose to vote on that initiative during any election. That being said, remember that the Capital Improvement Bond is a ZERO-tax rate increase bond. Therefore, we as a community will pay the same taxes whether we pass this bond (and allow the repairs to take place), or not. The timing on these repairs is critical to our community’s ability to educate students. Please note the Capital Improvement Bond on the ballot will have the verbiage, “This is a property tax increase.”  This wording is dictated by the state because the district will be taking on $39 million in additional debt; however, this will NOT INCREASE our tax payments, making it a ZERO-tax rate increase bond.  It will extend the district’s payments to pay off the debt.  You may access a sample ballot here: https://www.co.washington.tx.us/upload/page/10698/02025SampleBallot.pdf

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7. You’ve all seen the published information about our school ratings.  How do we expect that it’s going to improve with less teachers? Is this just the start and we must pass the VATRE to get us on the right path. Is that right?

Brenham ISD recently went through a several-year period during which critical budget cuts had to be made. To achieve this, over 50 positions were cut (mostly through attrition).  Additionally, Brenham ISD lost approximately 15 qualified, experienced teachers to Waller ISD in particular. Historically, Brenham ISD has been somewhat behind in terms of teacher and staff pay. Currently, the pay gap is wide enough where a commute makes good financial sense, unfortunately. To solve that, the VATRE will allow the community to immediately adjust teacher and staff pay to become competitive with our neighboring ISDs, as well as hiring new, experienced teachers. This will decrease class sizes (which went up significantly during the budget cuts). The combination of paying competitively (which will attract the most qualified, experienced educators) and improving the classroom environment (cutting class size), paired with the Capital Improvement Bond to improve the facilities, is our strategy as a community for building the type of excellence culture we want for our community.

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8. Are these two separate items on the ballot? 

Yes, they will be listed as:

Brenham Independent School District Proposition A: The issuance of $39,000,000 of bonds by the Brenham Independent School District for school facilities and the levying of a tax in payment of the principal and interest on the bonds and the cost of any credit agreements.

 

Brenham Independent School District Measure A: Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.7684 per $100 valuation in Brenham Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 8.2%0 in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $2,421,024.

You may access a sample ballot here: https://www.co.washington.tx.us/upload/page/10698/02025SampleBallot.pdf

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9.  Did any state teacher money go to BISD administration?

No, it is not allowed under the legislation. State money went only to classroom teachers. While those funds were needed and greatly appreciated, ALL districts the size of Brenham ISD received the same funds. Essentially, the funds acted as a cost-of-living adjustment for classroom teachers only, and did not include any other staff: custodial, cafeteria, paraprofessionals, or any other positions within the district (Note: there are close to 800 employees within Brenham ISD).

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10. What is the tax rate equivalent to raise salaries to be competitive? 

The VATRE will close the gap and make us competitive to other districts around us. Please see chart within the presentation slides, demonstrating our current position as compared to the pay rates of other districts our size/in our area. (click here)

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11. What are the plans for the funds?

There are two items to vote on here, the Capital Improvement Bond and the VATRE. The Capital Improvement Bond is a zero-tax rate increase bond to begin the process of completing projects as listed here (capital improvement list). The VATRE is a separate measure to adopt a very slight tax increase (link to the chart), for the purpose of increasing teacher and staff pay, decreasing class sizes, and other operations-related expenses with the goal of increased student academic performance.

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12. What is a VATRE?

A VATRE is a Voter Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE). The purpose of a VATRE is for a school district to ask voters to approve a property tax rate that exceeds the maximum rate allowed by state law. Texas School districts initiate VATREs when they face budget needs to cover rising operational costs. The funding being voted on in this election is in a category with the state known as “golden pennies”; in layman’s terms, this means that all of the additional funds being voted on will remain in Brenham ISD, and no portion of this allotment will be returned to the state. 

 

The last two years, the Brenham District has passed a balanced budget by cutting positions and expenses. Fifty positions have been absorbed, primarily through attrition.  This has come at a price: class sizes are larger impacting classroom management and instruction. At this point there is nothing left to cut in order to maintain a balanced budget.  The district must increase the revenue. The only way to increase a district’s revenue beyond what is provided by the state’s current per student funding is to pass a VATRE.

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13. How do we get a $39 million bond without a tax rate increase?

Over the past several years, BISD has demonstrated responsible financial management by prepaying more than $1.9 Million in debt and refinancing existing debt at lower interest rates, reducing future interest costs.  This is similar to a family paying extra on a mortgage each year or refinancing to lower their rate.  Under Texas law, the existing bond funds can only be applied to reducing the debt service of Bonds approved in the past. Therefore a new bond must be passed to address the Capital Improvement projects needed.

Because Brenham ISD paid down their debt ahead of schedule, they are able to issue a new bond for $39 million without increasing the payments.  Because the district’s payments stay the same- our payments stay the same.  Please note the Capital Improvement Bond on the ballot will have the verbiage, “This is a property tax increase.”  This wording is dictated by the state because the district will be taking on $39 million in additional debt; however, this will NOT INCREASE our tax payments, making it a ZERO-tax rate increase bond. It will extend the district’s payments to pay off the debt.  You may access a sample ballot here: https://www.co.washington.tx.us/upload/page/10698/02025SampleBallot.pdf

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14. Who decided on the amount specified in this proposal?

The Strategic Planning Committee, which was made up of over fifty community members, ultimately made the recommendation to the Brenham ISD School Board for these amounts. The answer to where the amounts came from is a two part answer: one for the Capital Improvement Bond and another for the VATRE.

 

For the zero-tax rate increase Capital Improvement Bond, the amount came from two things: the amount of very critical projects needed (those red and orange-coded items) preventing the District from educating students within two years. (project list here) And the amount that the community could receive without raising taxes on this proposition. While we know if we’d recommended to go for more, we could do more projects; we also believe there is a balance. If the majority of the red and orange-coded items are addressed, then the number of “emergency” repairs, which have a tendency to cost more in the moment, will significantly go down or subside.  When an “emergency repair” arises, the district has no choice but to pay for the repair through the operating budget, due to the fact that bond money can only be used for the specific areas addressed in the bond.  After making these capital improvements, it will loosen the financial strain on the operating budget.

https://www.brenhamisd.net/page/bond.home

For the VATRE, the Strategic Planning Committee recommended what we believe to be a balanced approach as well. (Please refer to the chart showing where Brenham ISD ranks against other neighboring, comparison districts in terms of teacher and staff pay, for reference). In terms of tax increases which fund our schools, there is a designation of available money known as “golden pennies”. Each “golden penny” represents a sum of money that stays in our community, versus going back to the State. Brenham ISD may go for three additional “golden pennies”.  Voting to “take” this allotment of funds (the three golden pennies) will land Brenham ISD in a very competitive position with regard to salaries and the ability to decrease class sizes. Please understand that it will NOT make us the most competitive/highest paid district. The majority of the committee believed that stopping at the three available “golden pennies” allows us to be extremely competitive, while avoiding returning money to the state.

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15. Why can’t we just build a new school?

This is a question which was asked during the Strategic Planning Committee and discussed at length, and it is deserving of a thorough answer. There are significant needs at Brenham Junior High School’s campus, as well as the High School, as almost all are aware. As a community, we must acknowledge that there is a recent history regarding failed bond elections. Through analyzing over 700 comments made on social media regarding past bonds, what the Strategic Planning Committee and BISD Administration ultimately acknowledged was that the community did not fail past bonds because there was a lack of needs. (According to the data, only about 14% of comments made by those OPPOSING past bonds indicated that they believed there were not significant needs. Even so, the conditions from two years ago are significantly more critical at this point). What the data showed was that while the community may have cited different reasons for voting past bonds down, they came to the same conclusion: we needed more details, transparency, and information about where and how the funds would be used.

For that reason, the majority of the Strategic Planning Committee agreed that when it comes to larger capital efforts (such as a new school or major renovations), a similar multi-phased process within the Strategic Planning Committee would need to take place. When the Strategic Planning Committee made a recommendation to the School Board in August to put these two options out to the voters, they also asked the School Board for their support and approval in continuing to study (and ultimately make a recommendation for) the larger projects which are needed, likely to be the junior high and high school. The BISD School Board unanimously voiced support for the Strategic Planning Committee (made up of 50+ community members) studying these larger projects to bring the details, specifics, and transparency requested by the public, to the voters.  When those details are reliable, accurate and available, the Strategic Planning Committee will bring that information to the board and make a recommendation for larger projects.

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16. What will happen if the bond doesn’t pass?

Two part answer. If the VATRE does not pass, the community’s next chance at adjusting teacher and staff pay will be next November 2026. Note that Brenham ISD has lost 15 of its most experienced classroom teachers due to a significant pay gap between our community’s pay structure and neighboring districts such as Bryan, Navasota and Waller. The loss of our most experienced, qualified teachers will continue until this problem is solved. At this point, the pay gap is too significant to rationalize avoiding a short commute to another district. 

With regard to the zero-tax rate increase Capital Improvement Bond, please refer to the list of needed Capital Improvements, specifically the ones coded in red and orange. These items must be dealt with immediately in order to continue educating students in our community. If this bond does not pass, when these facility emergencies occur (ACs breaking down as they have been routinely, roofs leaking causing flooding in the schools), the funding must come directly from Brenham ISD’s operating budget. If the bond is not passed, and a facility emergency occurs, there is not currently “savings” to address that need, which could limit the District’s ability to hold school.

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17. What additional facilities does Brenham ISD need? Who will decided that and when? Need to describe ambassador academy and how it became the strategic committee.

Brenham ISD began an Ambassador Academy in the fall of 2024.  They are currently hosting their second Ambassador Academy this year.  One of the goals of the Ambassador Academy is to show the community how a school district operates- while it is a business, it is governed with multiple layers of red tape.  It is eye-opening what the school district is expected to accomplish with the little funds they are provided.  One of the blessings of the Ambassador Academy is the outside opinions and ideas the community can provide.  Through these share sessions, the Strategic Planning Committee was formed with the goal of providing a long-term plan for the district in regards to facilities and community impact.

The majority of the Strategic Planning Committee agreed that when it comes to larger capital efforts (such as a new school or major renovations), the Committee would need to go through a process where all needs, options and solutions are studied adequately. When the Strategic Planning Committee made a recommendation to the School Board in August to put these two options out to the voters (the VATRE and the zero-tax rate increase Capital Improvement Bond), they also asked the School Board for their support and approval in continuing to study (and ultimately make a recommendation for) the larger projects which are needed, likely to be the junior high and high school. The BISD School Board unanimously voiced support for the Strategic Planning Committee (made up of 50+ community members) studying these larger projects to bring the details, specifics, and transparency requested by the public, to the voters.  When those details are reliable, accurate and available, the Strategic Planning Committee will bring that information to the board and make a recommendation for larger projects.

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18. Why can’t the district pay for new buildings and improvements out of the operating budget?

A school district has two funding “buckets”: the operating budget (M&O) and the debt budget (I&S). The operating budget is funded through our local property taxes and a student attendance-based funding through the state. Until this year, the state had not increased student funding since House Bill 3 in 2019.  This year, House Bill 2 passed, providing the pass-through funding for teachers.  This money cannot be used for new buildings and capital improvements.  

 

The second “bucket” of funding is the Interest and Sinking (I&S). This money is borrowed money designated to pay ONLY what the voters have approved.  Therefore, the last bond that past in 2012 can only be used for those items in the 2012 bond: building of Alton Elementary and remodeling of Brenham Middle School.  The capital improvements needed (refer to the list of needed Capital Improvements), specifically the ones coded in red and orange, are not listed on the 2012 bond.  Therefore a new bond is necessary.

 

The other item to note is the M&O budget is 80-85% payroll and personnel expenses.  The remaining 15-20% of the budget is used for operating expenses, such as busses, utilities, and instructional programs/supplies, many of which are required by the state. There is NO ADDITIONAL money for capital improvement projects.

 

19. How will the two propositions affect my property taxes?

Couple answers here! For the zero-tax rate increase Capital Improvement Bond, your tax rate will not change. For the VATRE, note that there is also a homestead exemption change which is out to the voters in this same election. Please see chart attached for examples of how your rate is likely to change, based on approximate home values. (click here) ​​​​​​​

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