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Aledo ISD

Board approves tax rate

Rate to decrease tax for fourth-straight year, staff pay increased

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The Aledo ISD Board of Trustees adopted the 2022-2023 budget of $102,668,054 and approved a decrease to the district’s overall tax rate for the fourth-straight year.

The vote was held at a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 29.

“We are thankful for the many months of work by our trustees that went into this budget that focuses on meeting the expectations of our community in both how we serve our children and how we manage the district’s finances,” Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn said. “The budget supports increased operating costs caused by fast growth and significant inflation, providing for exceptional experiences for our students, and continuing to compensate our staff well.”

Over the last four years, the overall tax rate for Aledo ISD has been lowered by $0.2271 as Maintenance and Operations tax rates have been compressed after the passing of House Bill 3 in 2019. The previous overall district tax rate was $1.3929, and the Board adopted the new tax rate of $1.3679, a decrease of 2.5 cents.

“We are grateful to be able to lower our tax rate for the fourth-straight year for our community while still increasing salaries for our staff,” Board President Hoyt Harris said. “Our Trustees remain committed to this important work and to being all in on all of the things that make Aledo ISD such a great district.”

The budget includes a 4% general pay increase that will keep Aledo ISD among the top salaries among area school districts for the 2022-2023 school year. The 4% is a minimum increase of $2,400 for teachers and librarians and a 4% of the pay range midpoint for all other staff plus targeted adjustments. Trustees also increased the starting salary for teachers and librarians to $60,200, keeping Aledo ISD among the most competitive starting salaries in the DFW Metroplex. The Board approved raising the minimum hourly rate for nonexempt (hourly) staff to $15 per hour in an effort to be more competitive in the market.

Trustees also voted to prepay $3,310,000 in outstanding bonds prior to maturity, saving $2,813,500 in future interest costs. The district has saved more than $51 million since 2006 by refunding, refinancing, and pre-paying bonds and by taking advantage of lower interest rates.

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