Montgomery ISD is trying to thread the financial needle: give every employee a 3% raise, hire more staff, and still keep the books perfectly balanced at $108.9 million in its draft FY 2026-27 general fund budget. The proposal leans on modest gains in tax collections to make the math work.
Budget presentation to trustees
Chief Financial Officer Ben Davidson walked the school board through the early budget blueprint during a special meeting Tuesday, according to BoardBook. The item appeared as a preliminary review so trustees could kick the tires on the assumptions before anything is locked in.
Numbers, raises and new positions
As reported by Community Impact, the draft general fund pegs both total revenues and total expenditures at $108.9 million, a $3.96 million increase over FY 2025-26. Roughly $2.25 million of that is slated for the 3% raises, which are calculated from pay-grade midpoints, with another $221,000 set aside for pay adjustments and retention stipends.
The plan also carves out about $989,367 for new full-time positions, including assistant principals at Montgomery Junior High and at Montgomery and Creekside elementary schools, four special-education teachers, eight special-education paraprofessionals, a K-12 science coordinator and a speech-language pathologist. To help cover the tab, the district is counting on about $350,000 in additional revenue from tax collections, according to the same report.
Recent board action and one-time stipends
Trustees teed up some of this pay strategy earlier in the spring. On April 21, the board approved a compensation package that invested $3.6 million in employees, including ongoing salary increases and a one-time $1,000 Impact Recognition Stipend paid in May, according to Montgomery ISD.
That earlier move delivered a $2,100 salary increase for teachers on the hiring schedule and set a 3% midpoint-based raise for other staff. District officials say that structure helped lay the groundwork for the new draft budget now in front of trustees.
Tax rate and timeline
The district’s preliminary total tax rate for FY 2026-27 is listed at $1.0738 per $100 valuation, slightly below the current $1.0912 rate. Officials cautioned that number could shift once county appraisers certify property values. As Community Impact notes, trustees still have room to adjust the tax rate before any formal vote later this summer.
What comes next
For now, the budget remains a working document. District staff told trustees they will keep workshopping the details before bringing back a final version. Any official budget adoption and tax-rate approval will follow required public notices and hearings posted to the board’s online portal.
Residents who want to track the process or weigh in can monitor the board’s public agenda and materials through BoardBook.
