The Elysian Fields ISD Board of Trustees approved the district’s tax rate for the 2024-2025 school year Monday evening, setting a tax rate of just under 96 cents per $100 property valuation.
The district’s Maintenance and Operations (M&O) budget remained the same as last year, when it was dropped roughly 19 cents to its current rate of $0.6692. The M&O side of the budget covers expenses such as salaries, instructional programs, utilities, maintenance, and other day-to-day costs of running the district.
The district approved an increase in its Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax rate due to passage of a $55 million bond project that was approved by EFISD voters this past May. The bond package included construction of a new elementary school; upgrades to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, security, and mechanical systems at Elysian Fields High School and Elysian Fields Middle School; relocation of the district’s Transportation Department to the current location of Elysian Fields Elementary School; and demolition and replacement of the old fieldhouse at Jacket Stadium. The bonds for those projects were sold this past Monday.
The new I&S rate of $0.2904 gives EFISD a total tax rate of $0.9596 per $100 valuation. The district’s tax rate is very comparable to other school districts in the area, including Marshall ISD ($0.9591), Waskom ISD $(0.9485), Tatum ISD ($0.9405) Carthage ISD ($0.8992), Gary ISD ($1.1492), and Beckville ISD ($0.8845), among others.*
In addition, when compared to EFISD's recent tax rates, the newly approved rate is among the lowest in history. As recently as 2018, the district's overall tax rate was $1.35 per $100 valuation, a difference of just over 39 cents.
The district saw an overall drop in taxable value, which also means that EFISD will be required to send less money back to the state under the state’s recapture, or “Robin Hood,” program.
All funds generated on the I&S side of the tax rate formula are not subject to recapture, which means all of those funds will remain in EFISD.
*2023-2024 approved tax rates