SAN BENITO — From tax rates to athletic-related matters, the leaders of this school district recently took action on different topics.
The San Benito CISD Board of Trustees discussed and approved a variety of items during a meeting held Tuesday.
The board approved a resolution authorizing the setting of the 2020 ad valorem school taxes.
Hilda G. Rendon, San Benito CISD’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, discussed the tax rate for this year.
“The tax rate is remaining the same,” Rendon said. “We’ve had the same tax rate since 2009, 2010.”
The tax rate is $1.3049 per $100 valuation. In that amount, $1.025 per $100 valuation will be levied for a local maintenance fund and $0.2799 will be levied for a bonded debt fund.
According to the resolution, any taxpayer who voluntarily pays 2020 taxes before January will receive a discount.
A 3 percent discount will be given if the tax is paid in October. A 2 percent discount will be given if the tax is paid in November. Lastly, those who pay the tax in December will receive a 1 percent discount.
“It goes back to the team, I call it the San Benito CISD family, and being good stewards of the money. Also, the board being open minded as far as how to spend expenditures and focusing on the important things at task,” Board of Trustees President Orlando Lopez said. “That’s providing our kids with everything they need, and we still don’t raise taxes so that’s huge even after all the raises that we’ve given.”
Athletics
The board approved an application for the 2020 Undertold Marker for the Bobby Morrow Stadium.
“We have a request from the San Benito Historical Society to place a state historical marker at Bobby Morrow Stadium in honor of Mr. Bobby Morrow,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nate Carman said. “I think it’s a very appropriate gesture on their part.”
The three-time Olympic gold medalist and San Benito native, Bobby J. Morrow, died this year on May 30 at the age of 84.
In 2006, the school district named its San Benito High School football stadium in honor of Morrow.
Lastly, the board approved the purchase of weight room equipment for its indoor multipurpose facility.
The purchase will cost approximately $381,975.81 and will include equipment, such as weights, racks and benches.
Carman said initially, there were thoughts that the weight equipment in the current weight room could be used. However, after looking at the condition of what’s in the high school weight room, they made the decision to move forward with putting all new weight equipment in the indoor facility’s 10,000-square-foot weight room.
According to Carman, the school district received three bids from BuyBoard approved vendors. He said two of the bids were close so the recommended bid was selected based on quality and warranty of the equipment.
“Coach Gomez did a really good job between our first bid and this final bid,” Carman said. “This is $160,000 lower than the very first bid we received. So, he put in his due diligence and is requesting the appropriate equipment, and at a better price than what we started with by quite a bit.”
