TAYLOR – With half of Taylor’s schools projected to be over capacity in 2026 and the fact that it takes three years to get a new school designed and built, Taylor ISD is on a tight deadline to get funding approved. Add in the safety and security updates needed at the existing schools, and you have the foundation for the $82.47 million bond Taylor ISD residents will be voting on come November.
Unlike almost any other school district, Taylor ISD plans to enact the bond – if approved – without increasing homeowners’ tax burdens. The district adopted a no-newrevenue tax rate which effectively lowers the tax rate to compensate for increased property values, equating to the average property owner paying the same amount of taxes as they did the previous year. In a growing market, the district will still collect more revenue from taxes due to the increased number of developed properties being added to the tax roles. Enter the $17 billion Samsung semiconductor facility.
“There are two types of tax that make up the total tax rate,” explained Dr. Devin Padavil, Taylor ISD Superintendent.
“The Maintenance and Operation (M&O) rate is used to pay for utilities, teacher salaries and dayto- day expenses while the Interest and Sinking (I&S) rate is used to pay off school bond debts.”
Together, they make up the total tax rate.
The 2022 tax rate of $1.28 per $100 of assessed valuation is the lowest it has been since 2008, according to Padavil. Of that, $0.94 is the Maintenance and Operation rate and $0.34 is the Interest and Sinking rate. Last year’s total tax rate was $1.34 per $100.
“Samsung has a tax exemption on the M&O rate, but they don’t have an exemption on the I&S rate,” Padavil said.
Based on the power of Samsung’s anticipated tax payments, the district’s financial advisor said Taylor ISD could potentially ask for bonds up to $240 million over the next three years without having to raise the I&S tax rate, according to Padavil.
“When Samsung becomes operational in 2024-25, the board will have an incredible opportunity to push that I&S rate way down because right now that company is just worth the land it’s sitting on, but once the plant is operational, we collect the full taxable value on the I&S side, which means that bond capacity is just going to explode. So the board is going to have the capacity to lower that rate even more in 2024-25,” he explained.
Before proposing the bond, Taylor ISD’s community advisory committee met over several months to examine facilities, discuss possible projects and rank the district’s needs. They unanimously backed the need for a bond and made the recommendation to the Taylor ISD Board of Trustees in August.
Taylor ISD has hosted a series of public meetings to explain the bond proposal and ensure residents understand exactly what will be done with the funds and where the funds are coming from.
While most seem to favor the proposal, there have been some residents with concerns. At a recent meeting, Taylor business owner Albert Janecka engaged Dr. Padavil in a discussion about the district’s assertion that the bond did not represent a tax increase.
“If you’re bringing in even one dollar more this year than you did last year, that’s the definition of a tax increase,” Janecka said. “A tax increase and a tax rate increase are two different things.” The issue stems from the district’s explanation of the ballot wording. By state law, the sentence “This is a property tax increase,” must be present on the ballot description regardless of whether the tax rate actually decreases. Janecka pointed out that the wording on the district’s website regarding this mandatory statement was not clear.
“That’s misinformation and it’s misleading,” he said. Taylor native and retired educator Moppy Miller is a member of the Citizens for Taylor ISD Political Action Committee. She favors the bond because she remembers attending old Taylor High School in its final years, and what it meant when she was able to attend the then-new high school on Main St.
“We need this bond to pass. Somebody supported Taylor when I was a student and passed bonds and funded a new school. Now it’s time for us to do the same for our future citizens of Taylor. We need to give the students and teachers what they need to succeed.” If the voters approve the bond on Nov. 8, the district will move forward with plans for $11.5 million in increased facility safety, plus other campus improvements, land acquisition for a new elementary school, adding career and technical education classrooms and updating elementary school furnishings. The final community meeting is Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Main Street Intermediate Events Center.
