During Monday night’s meeting, the Brownwood ISD Board of Trustees proposed a tax rate of .9469 cents per $100 valuation – a full 2 cent decrease on the current .9669 rate – for the 2025-26 school year. A formal vote on the tax rate and school year budget will take place during a 12:15 p.m. meeting Thursday, Aug. 21 at the BISD Administration Office at 2707 Southside Drive.
The 2024-25 tax rate dropped 7.5 cents from the 2023-24 amount of just over $1.04. In two school years, the tax rate will have dropped almost 10 cents per $100 valuation.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to call for a special election on Nov. 4 for Place 6. Connor Arrington was appointed to fill the Place 6 vacancy left by Eric Evans’ resignation. If no one files to oppose Arrington by Aug. 18, the election will be canceled. Place 6 is up again for election in November 2026, when Evans’ original term was set to expire.
Items on the Consent Agenda that were passed include:
- The BISD Cell Phone Policy
- The BISD FD and FM Local Policy Revision Concerning Homeschool Updates
- Salary Schedule
- Student Code of Conduct
- District & Campus Improvement Goals
- DOI Teacher Certifications
- Teacher Appraisal Calendar
- T-TESS Appraiser List
- District Attorney Retainer
- Public Fund Investment Policy Resolution
- Property/Casualty Insurance for 2025-26
- Bank Depository Contract
- Adult Meal Prices
- Resolution regarding a Public Property Finance Act Contract for the purpose of financing buses and other matters related thereto
- 4-H Adjunct Faculty Agreement
- Minutes from May 19, 2025 meeting
BISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Young noted to the Board that the starting salary for a teacher in the school district is now $50,268 – a substantial increase from the 2020 starting salary of $36,500.
“This really puts us on par with other 4A districts we’re competing against for talent as far as teaching and staff goes,” Young said. “We think we’re finally turning corner on having a package that can compete with people we have to compete with to get talent.”
Young also told the Board that the Brownwood Education Foundation distributed $21,000 in grants for teachers for classroom instructional materials during last week’s convocation, ahead of Tuesday’s first day of school.
“We appreciate them and what they do to benefit our kids,” Young said.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the BISD Board of Trustees will be Monday, Sept. 8.