TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Independent School District board of trustees has voted to lower the district’s tax rate by 7.5 cents. Trustees unanimously approved the new tax rate during the board’s meeting on Monday (September 14).
The board set the new tax rate at $1.0619 for the upcoming year with $0.7509 designated for the purpose of maintenance and operations and $0.3110 designated for the purpose of payment of debt service. The previous total tax rate was $1.1372, and the new tax rate will be the district’s lowest tax rate in over 15 years.
The M&O tax rate will drop due to compression from the current rate of $0.8022 to $0.7509. This rate also includes the passage of Proposition A in 2025 that handled the safety needs of TISD. The new rate reflects an increase in local values and the property relief measures the Texas legislature put in place, which include increases in the homestead exemption.
The Interest and Sinking (I&S) rate will drop from $0.3350 to $0.3110. The district was able to lower the bond and indebtedness rate after passing a $119.7 million bond in 2025. The reduction is due to an increase in residential and commercial taxable values within the district.
“Temple ISD has a responsibility to not only serve our students and families, but to also be responsible to our community,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of Temple schools. “I applaud our board members for recognizing the current economic challenges facing our citizens and adopting a substantially lower tax rate while maintaining high-quality educational services.”
During the board meeting, Ott thanked the staff of the district’s Finance Department for their diligence during this process of lowering the tax rate and adopting a balanced budget.