Cameron ISD passes lower tax rate, budget for 2020-21

The Cameron Independent School District proposed a tax rate and budget during a public meeting on Aug. 31. 

The proposed tax rate for the Maintenance and Operations side is $0.9614 and the proposed tax rate for Interest and Sinking is $0.3186, bringing the tax rate to a total of $1.28.

The board also voted to adopt the budget and tax rate during the meeting.

CISD Superintendent Kevin Sprinkles said this year’s tax rate is less than last year’s rate. Last year’s tax rate was $1.38.

The tax rate is based upon Milam County Appraisal District certified values.

CISD’s total budget for the 2020-21 school year is set at $20,382,569 with $18,652,794 going towards maintenance and operations and $1,729,775 going towards bonded debt.

Proposed revenues for the year are expected to be at $20,424,447 which will give CISD a balanced budget with a $41,878 total surplus.

Sprinkles said the proposed budget is balanced and will give the district a little bit of a surplus in revenue.

The board also approved several budget amendments to the 2019-20 budget.

“After all of the recoding and classification of funds we are going to be able to fund everything that the board agreed to, such as the gym floor and other things that were not budgeted items,” Sprinkles said. “Everything has been accounted for and we have a slight surplus of about $11,000. Much of that was due to some of the expenditures that didn’t have to be made this year due to COVID-19.”

Sprinkles said this was an interesting year with budgeting.

“I feel strong about were we are,” he said. “We had a bunch of unplanned expenditures and it is good to know that at the end of the day we have a little surplus.”

Sprinkles also told the board during the meeting that the district is seeing about 20 percent of students doing remote learning, with more students at high school doing remote learning and less in the younger grades.