COPPERAS COVE – For the first time in four years, Copperas Cove ISD has a balanced budget which has been approved by the Board of Trustees.
Monday evening, in its rescheduled regular meeting, the CCISD Board of Trustees formally adopted the district’s tax rate and budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The general operating budget of almost $94 million was approved for the new fiscal year, which begins Tues., Sept. 1st. The adopted general operating budget includes reductions in spending for data processing, staff travel and administrative salaries, while it also includes increases in allocations for facility maintenance, instructional staff development, student opportunities and employee compensation.
“Our two primary goals in working through this budget process were to balance the budget and address the biggest needs in the district,” said Superintendent Dr. Brent Hawkins. “This budget reflects a long process in which our district leadership worked hard to prioritize fiscal needs that will have the greatest benefit for our students. Through this work, and by balancing the new budget, our district has taken an enormous step forward in responsible financial stewardship.”
This balanced budget follows adopted budget deficits of approximately $6.5 million in 2023-24, $2.6 million in 2024-25 and $358,000 in 2025-26.
In addition to the proposed budget, trustees adopted a total tax rate of $1.05490 per $100 valuation. In that overall rate, the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) rate remains steady at $0.7575 for the fourth consecutive year. The Interest & Sinking (I&S) rate, which can only be used to repay bond debt by law, was set at $0.29740 after CCISD voters approved $154.5 million in bonds for capital improvements in November 2025.
“When we asked voters to consider the 2025 bond proposal, we made a promise to them that we would not saddle them with the full increase in I&S taxes at one time,” Dr. Hawkins said. “The I&S tax rate adopted by the trustees this evening reflects our administration holding true to that promise. With these renovation projects slated to begin soon, it allows us to begin modernizing the facilities our students are learning in and avoid a larger increase in taxing for our community.”
Both of these actions were originally scheduled for consideration on Aug. 17th before a citywide water emergency forced the meeting to be rescheduled. Copperas Cove ISD recently received its fourth consecutive perfect scores on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas from the Texas Education Agency.
“Our team will continue to work within the means afforded to us to make sure every Bulldawg has every possible opportunity for success,” said Chief Financial Officer Cliff Heath. “I hope our community sees that our administration is working tirelessly to remain good stewards of their tax dollars and minimize the impact they see as a result.”
In addition to budget actions, trustees approved agreements with City of Copperas Cove and Coryell County EMS to establish clinical affiliations and provide supervision for the district’s new EMS program in the Career & Technical Education department.
Trustees also approved agreements to create partnerships between CCISD and Fort Davis ISD, Green Space Learning, Southwest Christian School, Hill Country Educational Leadership, Alpha Form School, Kids Village Montessori Tres Lagos, New Creation Learning Center, Inspiring Little Minds Learning Center and Central Texas Children’s Academy.
These partnerships will allow Copperas Cove ISD to provide the services which have it among the highest-rated schools in Region 12 to a greater number of students and increase the opportunities available to students across Texas.
“These new public-private partnerships have been a labor of love for our team in CCISD,” Dr. Hawkins said. “We want to make sure every student in Texas, no matter which school they attend, has access to the very best education possible. While we will always continue looking to improve our craft, we want to partner with daycares and private schools who share the same vision for student success that we do.”
Additionally, CCISD trustees heard reports on summer testing on state-mandated exams, AP scores and state accountability ratings. They also held a public hearing to certify annual compliance with Senate Bill 12, before they approved a series of agreements and purchases over $50,000:
- Interlocal agreement with the City of Copperas Cove to provide School Resource Officers for CCISD ($197,331.00 – Budgeted Funds)
- Purchase of Lightspeed Software ($69,000.00 – Budgeted Funds)
- Renewal of Skyward licenses for financial management, payroll, employee access, crystal reports maintenance and student management ($160,092.78 – Budgeted Funds)
- Five-year lease and service agreement with Kirbo’s Office System ($198,996.00 – Budgeted Funds)
Trustees also approved an amendment to CCISD’s District of Innovation plan to revert the formal grievance process back to where it stood prior to Sept. 1, 2025, when Senate Bill 12 was first implemented. This allows more time for a thorough response from staff in a time which aligns with the academic calendar and holds families harmless for attempting informal resolutions prior to filing a grievance.
The Board of Trustees is next scheduled to hold its Special Called/Workshop Meeting at 5 p.m. Sept. 14th, and its regular September meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 28th. Both meetings will take place in the Board Room, located at the CCISD Service & Training Center on South Main Street.
Agendas for each meeting are posted outside the District Service & Training Center three business days prior to each meeting. Once posted, they can be viewed online at www.CCISD.com/SchoolBoard.