Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
The Kerens ISD school board recognizes District Maintenance Director Cliff Davis (left) and his assistant, Jimmy Keele, during its Aug. 28 meeting for their work behind the scenes keeping district facilities running, according to District Director of Student Services and Operations Brad Atkeisson.

KERENS–Kerens ISD (KISD) trustees voted Aug. 28 to set the district’s tax rates for the 2023-24 school year, which in total are about 18.5 cents lower than last year, and which the school’s superintendent said are about 45 cents lower than when he started working there.
Superintendent Martin Brumit said when he came to KISD in 2018, the tax rate was $1.44. Now, the district’s maintenance and operations (M&O) rate has decreased to about 67 cents, with the interest and sinking rate (I&S, which is generally used to pay off bonds) set at 32 cents. That totals about 99 cents. For 2022, the district’s M&O tax rate was 85.46 cents per $100 taxable value, while the I&S rate was the same, at 32 cents, totaling $1.1746.
Brumit said the district could have cut its I&S rate in half but decided to keep it the same to allow doubling up on bond payments, saving district taxpayers about $954,000. The school can save another $1 million on bonds by refinancing the balance, Brumit added.
The board also adopted a resolution approving a contingency fee engagement letter with a law firm, Leon Alcala, to serve as bond counsel. That action was related to a subsequent resolution adopted that expresses the district’s intent to defease and redeem certain of the district’s outstanding bonds, Brumit said. The superintendent explained that “defease” means, in this case, to double up payments on bonds.
Another resolution the board adopted states KISD will not employ or have a volunteer chaplain, which is allowed under a new state law for counseling students in a non-certified capacity. Brumit said the district has counselors on staff who can handle those duties.
In addition, a second resolution addressed another new state law which requires school districts to have personal security guards for each school campus. Instead of hiring a full-time school police officer for its one-campus district, KISD will employ its currently used Guardian Plan as an alternative that’s acceptable under the law, according to Brumit.
The Guardian Plan is a state-allowed option for school district safety under which school boards designate specified employees who are authorized to carry firearms on school premises, according to the Texas Education Agency.
In other business, the board:
• Heard the district’s preliminary Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) report for 2022-23 based on 2021-22 data, on which the district scored a perfect 100.
• Approved a fourth-quarter cost-share payment of $26,976.18 to Navarro Central Appraisal District.
• Approved extracurricular status of 4-H, Young Farmers and Little Dribblers, and the adjunct faculty from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, for the 2023-24 school year.
• Approved five days dedicated to employees who test positive for COVID-19; employees must provide proof of the positive test.