Alvin ISD board adopts balanced 2026–27 budget, holds tax-rate decision pending certified values

Alvin Independent School District trustees voted 7–0 on June 9 to adopt the district’s 2026–27 budget, approving a balanced plan that carries a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for staff and preserves existing priorities for classrooms, students and teachers.

CFO Dr. Daniel Combmes told the board the district remains in a favorable financial position, citing a multi-year 30-cent reduction in the tax rate and a recent state financial rating reported in the presentation. He said the district is proposing a flat operational budget that still incorporates personnel costs approved earlier by the board and noted that enrollment and average daily attendance — not property values alone — are the primary revenue drivers for Alvin ISD.

The nut of the decision is procedural: the budget was adopted using preliminary taxable values. Combmes explained that if certified values change, Texas Education Agency calculations (the MCR rate) could shift the district’s tax-rate options. The district expects certified values by the July 25 deadline and an MCR calculation from TEA in August; trustees were told a tax-rate recommendation will return to the board in September.

The budget package presented included the general fund, debt service and child nutrition budgets. Combmes highlighted two district spending priorities: classroom instruction and student safety. He said safety and security expenditures total about $7 million in recent years to support the district police force and related measures.

Trustee Corey Robersonson moved adoption of the budget; Trustee Gabe Garza seconded. After brief discussion by a newly seated trustee about learning the budget process, the board adopted the budget as presented, 7–0.

The board also approved routine budget-related procedural items later in the meeting, including designating the Brazoria County tax assessor-collector (Kristen Bulan) as the official responsible for calculating the district’s no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates, as required by state law.

What happens next: The board adopted the budget now but will consider a formal tax-rate recommendation once the appraisal district certifies values and TEA issues the MCR calculation this summer. The board’s public hearing and posting requirements were met before the vote.

Provenance: This article draws primarily on the budget presentation and board action recorded in the meeting transcript (topic intro SEG 030; vote and adoption conclusion SEG 1888).