Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens ISD recognizes staff members during the Aug. 22 school board meeting for their hard work in starting the new school year successfully, including Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Coordinator Kay Priddy (from left), Secondary School Registrar Cristy Foreman, Kerens Elementary School Secretary Nancy Melton and Kerens Secondary School Secretary Shirley Anderson (not pictured).

KERENS–The Kerens Independent School District’s (KISD) school board approved the tax rate for the 2022-23 school year during its Aug. 22 meeting.
The total tax rate will be $1.1746 per $100 taxable property valuation, compared to last year’s tax rate of $1.192. The maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate dropped from 87.872 cents per $100 valuation to 85.46 cents. The interest and sinking part of the tax rate, which is used to pay off bonded indebtedness, stayed the same at 32 cents per $100 valuation.
The district’s annual property values increased from $521 million to $703 million, according to the tax rate presentation. The school board adopted the 2022-23 KISD budget in June.
The board also approved setting up a loan of up to $100,000 to buy new air conditioners for the high school gymnasium and band hall. Superintendent Martin Brumit said taking out a loan with Powell State Bank instead of paying cash for the air conditioners would lessen the impact to the district’s fund balance.
Brumit said the air conditioners in question are the oldest ones on the KISD campus. Once the air conditioners are purchased and installed, he added, the district will have no air conditioners more than two years old.
Further, the board heard an athletics report from KISD Athletics Director and Head Football Coach Ted Patton. Patton discussed the growth and success of the athletics program, as well as future goals. “My goal when I came here was to build a true culture,” Patton said. Responded Board President Teresa Jennings, “Job well done.”
In other business, the board:
• Heard the district’s six-month federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III) update and discussion from public survey and input.
• Learned KISD scored an 86 on the 2022 Texas Education Agency accountability rating, receiving an A on four of the eight metrics.