CCISD adopts tax rates, calls for tax ratification election

By BRITTANY FHOLER 
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove Independent School District Board of Trustees held a special meeting to approve the adoption of the 2018-2019 ad valorem taxes and subsequent tax ratification election Monday evening in the Administration Board Room of the new CCISD Service and Training Center at 408 S. Main St. 
The board, with members Jim Copeland and Harry Byrd absent, approved a resolution to adopt the 2018-2019 tax rate, levying school district ad valorem taxes for the 2018-2019 year and directing the assessment and collection of the taxes. 
The current rate per $100 valuation is $1.04 for the Maintenance and Operations fund and $0.18 for Interest and Sinking fund, with a total tax rate of $1.22. 
The resolution proposes changing the rate on $100 valuation to be $1.17 for Maintenance and Operations and $0.18 for Interest and Sinking Fund. 
The Maintenance and Operations tax rate supports the education programs and daily operations of the district, while the Interest and Sinking tax rate pays for taxpayer approved CCISD bonded debts. 
The resolution states that upon the canvass of the results of the Tax Ratification Election evidencing the voters’ approval of the adopted tax rate, the debt service portion of the tax rate, also known as the Interest and Sinking Fund, will be reduced by $0.13, from $0.18 to $0.05 per $100 taxable assessed value. 
This would bring the total proposed tax rate back to $1.22. The estimated fiscal impact of this change in the tax rate increases the Maintenance and Operations revenue by approximately $4.1 million. 
Because the proposed tax rate for Maintenance and Operations is more than $1.04, state law requires an election for District voters to approve the rate, according to CCISD bond counsel, Clay Binford, of the Norton Rose Fullbright law firm. 
The board also approved an order calling for a Tax Ratification Election to be held on September 8, 2018. 
If voters fail to adopt the resolution, the Interest and Sinking Fund and Maintenance and Operations rates stay the same as they currently are, keeping the total tax rate of $1.22. 
Board members Byrd and Copeland, while absent, expressed their support for the proposal and the election via letters, according to CCISD Superintendent Joe Burns. 
Compared to surrounding school districts, CCISD is the second lowest tax rate, with Gatesville being the lowest at $1.177 and Belton being the highest at $1.60.