The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees approved an increase for Superintendent Scott Muri’s salary and extending his contract to June 30, 2027.
His salary will rise from $309,927 to $319,224.81 per year, which is a 3 percent increase, the same raise that was given to classroom teachers last year.
Trustees also approved a total tax rate of $1.17792 per $100 valuation at its meeting Tuesday evening.
An ordinance to that effect also was adopted.
The total tax rate is the same as last year, however, the maintenance and operations rate is compressed to $1.05 per $100 valuation.
Taxes are up 7.1 percent as property values have increased.
A public hearing was opened, but no one from the public spoke.
The interest and sinking tax rate, or debt service, is increasing from 12.6 cents per $100 valuation to 19.6 cents per $100 valuation.
Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers said the $1.17792 per $100 valuation is the highest rate ECISD can have without an election.
The approximate decrease in average homestead taxes is $49.
Superintendent Scott Muri said the district can now pay off its bonds faster.
Trustees voted 7-0 to redeem — pay off early — about $20.7 million of the Series 2013 Bonds in order to save more than $7.7 million in future interest payments. These bonds cannot be paid off immediately; this resolution sets aside the money to do so once the bonds are callable later this year, the board recap said.
Ottmers said they still have $155 million in principal indebtedness.
Approval of seven Chapter 313 appraised value limitation agreements during Tuesday’s meeting could increase the district’s tax base if the businesses go in.
Trustees voted 7-0 to approve resolutions adopting the finding of facts and application for each of the seven projects; and voted 7-0 to approve agreements limiting appraised value of the properties for school district Maintenance & Operations Taxes, pursuant to Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code, for each of the 7 projects.
The board recap said Chapter 313 agreements were created by the 2001 Texas Legislature to allow communities to attract specifically defined companies/projects through limiting the school district’s Maintenance & Operations (daily operations) taxable valuation for 10 years. The agreement remains fully taxable for I&S (Debt Service) tax purposes at all times. The agreement stipulates the school district cannot be financially worse off by entering into the agreement.
Industries eligible for Chapter 313 school property tax limitation include manufacturing, research and development, clean coal and other clean energy projects, renewable electricity generation, nuclear energy, computer data centers, “Texas priority projects” — those with a qualified investment commitment of more than $1 billion, the recap said.
The land designated for use in these projects is undeveloped and currently brings in very little local tax revenue for the school district. The agreements, of limited taxable valuations, are offered as an incentive for the companies to select Ector County as its location to build and provide jobs. Without the taxable value limitations, the huge increase in value would likely make ECISD a “property rich” district and require the district to send money to the state in recapture funds. School districts are limited on state/local revenue per student, and hence no additional total funds would be gained by not approving the agreements.
An important benefit is, in addition to I&S tax revenue, these Chapter 313 agreements include M&O tax protection and supplemental payments from the companies which are not subject to recapture, nor state funding reductions. In the example of 1PointFive, LLC, the company’s six proposed builds will pay ECISD millions of dollars in tax protection and supplemental payments over the next 25 years. Of course, there would be no tax revenue nor supplemental payments had the company chosen elsewhere to build, the recap said.
Generally speaking, the State of Texas wants school districts to seek voter approval for bond building projects, so the additional revenue does not have any bearing on bond proposals presented to the citizens of Ector County. And, again, the tax limitation is not granted for debt service funds that pay off bonds.
In other business:
- Trustees voted 7-0 to approve a data sharing agreement with Imagination Station, Inc. Istation is conducting a study on the relationship between the scores of its Istation Indicators of Progress for Reading and the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress and the state’s STAAR scores.
- Voted 7-0 to approve the consent agenda. This month’s consent agenda included minutes of previous meetings; bills for payments; acceptance of donations over $10,000 including $91,092 from Permian Strategic Partnership for staff housing supplement; $17,520 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for PHS grant project (150 calculators); $12,500 from the Education Foundation of Odessa for a portion of ECISD grant writer salary.
Also an agreement with the Texas Virtual School Network; three annual contracts with Greater Opportunities of the Permian Basin Head Start; a resolution for extra-curricular status for 4-H organization and adjunct staff members; additional T-TESS appraisers for 2022-23; a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the Southwest; a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Texas Permian Basin; out-of-state travel for the Permian High School Theater to go to New York, and the Permian High School Band to go to Orlando; and interlocal agreements with Purchasing Cooperative (COOP).
Special presentations included the recognition of volunteer Debbie McReynolds as the regional recipient of the State Board of Education Heroes for Children Award, and the introduction of 14 students who have earned national recognition through College Board programs.
