New Braunfels ISD trustees have signed off on a balanced $114.68 million spending plan for the 2026–27 fiscal year, a move that delivers a 2% raise for every district employee while adding staff and tweaking substitute pay.
Approved unanimously at the June 15 board meeting, the budget funds 25 new special-education positions, covers ROTC instructors at Long Creek High School, and shortens the wait for long-term substitute pay from 20 days to 15. District staff also outlined a proposed tax rate of $1.0522 per $100 of property valuation, split between maintenance-and-operations and interest-and-sinking, with trustees set to lock in the final number later this summer.
In a district news release, New Braunfels ISD put the total budget at $114,680,053, covering the General Fund, Interest & Sinking Fund and Child Nutrition Fund for the period from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The spending plan is framed as matching the board’s stated budget priorities after multiple workshops that tried to balance growth pressures with fiscal restraint, according to NBISD. “We are grateful to the Board for choosing to invest in our staff,” Superintendent Dr. Laurelyn Arterbury said in the district statement.
Tax rate and breakdown
As part of the budget presentation, district financial staff proposed a tax rate of $1.0522 per $100 valuation: $0.6969 for maintenance and operations and $0.3553 for interest and sinking. Jose Betancourt, the district’s director of financial services, told trustees that state tax-rate compression formulas will likely push the final maintenance-and-operations rate lower, according to board documents posted on BoardBook.
State aid and the budget squeeze
Part of the district’s financial picture ties back to state school funding. According to the Texas Legislature, House Bill 2 included only a modest increase to the basic per-student allotment. NBISD officials say that in practice, inflation, attendance and enrollment trends, along with rising property values, remain the main forces shaping the budget. District leaders told trustees that those factors, combined with careful use of reserves and a string of budget workshops, are what allowed them to bring in a balanced plan this year, according to NBISD.
What’s next
Trustees are expected to finalize the tax rate at a later meeting, with local reporting indicating the board is anticipated to adopt the 2026–27 rate on Aug. 24. The district notes that the General Fund will continue to cover day-to-day operations, while the Interest & Sinking Fund pays debt tied to voter-approved projects. Administrators have stressed the need to protect reserves even as they put money into staffing and student supports, according to Community Impact.
