Era ISD reports state A as trustees weigh tax rates and gym bids

Property owners in Era ISD would pay about $742 in school taxes for every $100,000 of taxable value under rates proposed for the Sept. 21 meeting of the Era ISD Board of Trustees. The same agenda called on trustees to act on construction bids for a replacement gym. The district has said a lasting repair of the old gym is no longer feasible.

The agenda came weeks after the district reported strong state marks. In an Aug. 14 statement, Era ISD said it earned an A in state academic accountability for 2025-26. The Texas Education Agency's district profile gives the home of the Hornets a score of 91 out of 100 and lists 517 students. The district also reported a Superior rating under the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or FIRST. Superintendent Jeff Webb's announcement called that result a perfect score. According to TEA, FIRST checks 21 indicators, among them administrative spending and outside audit findings.

The agenda posted on BoardBook proposed 2026-27 rates of $0.6134 per $100 of taxable value for maintenance and operations and $0.1286 for debt service. Together they would total $0.7420 if adopted. The agenda lists both tax ordinances but shows no vote results. It does not establish whether trustees adopted either rate. Cooke County records show Era's adopted school rate has dropped since 2020. The proposed total would be about $70 per $100,000 below the 2025 rate.

The district traces the gym's trouble back decades. It says steel sleeves were fitted in 1985 as a temporary brace for the building's aging wooden arches. The sleeves were not designed to stop the wood from delaminating. In April, the district said a licensed structural engineer and an architect had found the gym at the end of its usable life. They did not consider sudden collapse an immediate risk, but they judged continued use inadvisable. The district said no student programs would be cut because of the change.

The new gym will go up within the old building's footprint. The district's June plan called for a full basketball and volleyball court, wood floors, HVAC, LED lighting and two single-use restrooms. Cost estimates and bids will settle the final design. The district says the money it has covers the gym only. New locker rooms, a music room and One Act Play space are not included, but the building will allow additions later. The district said it secured portable classrooms for temporary locker-room use.

An Aug. 19 district update said demolition finished Aug. 18. It also said trustees had authorized Mann Made Construction to seek bids. The update expected groundbreaking in early October and set August 2027 as the opening target. It said a 12-month schedule could push completion to early October 2027. On Sept. 21, trustees were scheduled to review the bids and consider a guaranteed maximum price and a notice to proceed.

Official county results show Era voters rejected school facilities bond propositions twice in 2022, in May and again in November.