The Spring Hill ISD board voted unanimously Monday to allow out-of-district students to transfer into the district and require them to pay tuition.
The board also gave Superintendent Penny Fleet directions to plan for the development of a bond issue that would allow the district to repair its facilities.
Trustees have discussed accepting students from out of the district for months as a way to increase enrollment and subsequently increase revenue — and give more students the opportunity to attend a district they say has top-notch teachers. School districts receive state funding based on the number of students they have and their daily attendance.
The decision to allow transfer students is the latest development in the board’s efforts to shore up the district’s finances. Schools across the state are facing budget shortfalls because school funding has remained flat for five years amid record-high inflation.
Spring Hill ISD board members are shown during their meeting Monday. (Jordan Green/Longview News-Journal Photo)
For the 2025-26 school year, families seeking to transfer into the district would have to pay a transfer application fee of $50 per student. That cost would be deducted from the cost of tuition if the student is accepted. The cost of tuition would be $1,000 per student with a cap of $1,500 per family.
However, the cost of tuition could be waived for families who demonstrate financial hardship. Spring Hill teachers in the district won’t have to pay tuition for their children and neither will people who own property in the district but whose students are transferring into it from another school. The property owner’s taxes must be in good standing.
Students will be able to transfer into the district starting in January, giving families time to see if they’d like their children to stay there before they have to pay tuition.
Transfer students who fail to meet behavior, attendance and academic requirements could be kicked out quickly.
Place 1 Trustee Holly Kirl said the district has held off as long as possible on the decision of whether to accept transfers.
“As a 13-year Panther, it still pains me to have to make the decision, but unfortunately, we were forced into this position, so we don’t feel like we have a choice at this point in order to continue to pay our teachers and pay their retention stipends and bonuses and things like that, and things that we know are necessary and keep our programs for our kids,” she said.
Spring Hill ISD board members are shown during their meeting Monday. (Jordan Green/Longview News-Journal Photo)
Place 2 Trustee Ben Shelton said he wants more students to be able to experience the district. However, some families might not be able to afford the cost of tuition, which is why he supports the waiver for families with financial need.
“I wouldn’t want a matter of a few hundred bucks to keep a kid from getting an education here with the teachers that we have and being a part of this culture,” he said.
Ultimately, Fleet would have the right to accept or reject any transfer application, said Board President John Borens.
“The buck stops with Penny,” he said.
Step toward bond measureThe board on Monday also directed Fleet to schedule a meeting with the facilities committee to determine what improvement projects need to be funded by a potential bond measure, which would require voter approval but wouldn’t raise property taxes.
District leaders in 2025 could propose bonds totaling $11.780 million to be paid off during a 10-year span or $16.975 million to be paid off during a 15-year span. (The longer the period of time, the more the district can borrow. As older debt is paid off, the amount the district can borrow increases.)
The district would be able to borrow money in the form of bonds without raising the tax rate used to pay that debt, which is the interest and sinking fund tax rate, above the maximum rate of 50 cents per $100 of property valuation.
Spring Hill ISD Superintendent Penny Fleet speaks Monday during the Board of Trustees meeting. (Jordan Green/Longview News-Journal Photo)
The interest and sinking fund tax rate is one of two that Texas property owners pay to fund local schools. Interest and sinking fund tax revenue can be used only to pay down bond debt. So, for a district to spend it, voters would have to approve a bond measure allowing the district to borrow money, and the district would pay it back using its interest and sinking fund.
The other tax rate — the maintenance and operations tax rate — funds a district’s day-to-day operational costs, including payroll, insurance and more.
Using bond money (and, subsequently, the interest and sinking fund) to repair facilities would decrease maintenance costs that are being paid with money from the general fund. Making those repairs would decrease maintenance costs and allow the district to use general fund money for payroll, programs for students and other needs.
Board members also are considering asking voters in 2025 to approve a tax increase of 3.21 cents per $100 of property valuation, which would give the district about $300,000 more per year for its day-to-day operations. Voter approval would be required for that rate to go into effect because it exceeds what the board can implement on its own.
Spring Hill this year adopted a deficit budget and balanced it with roughly $420,000 in savings.