Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Sept. 17, 2021 – The Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees will vote Monday night on a plan to donate nearly $18,000 worth of heavy face shields to Memorial Hermann Health System to help protect health care workers on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.

The board also will hold a public hearing and vote on the proposed district property tax for 2021. Under the proposal, the district’s tax rate would fall slightly and remain one of the lowest tax rates in the Houston area.

The SBISD board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Spring Branch Education Center, 9016 Westview Drive in Houston.

Memorial Hermann is a vitally important community partner to Spring Branch ISD, and Superintendent Jennifer Blaine said the district wants to do everything it can to help health care workers.

“This is an opportunity for us to give back to help our friends at Memorial Hermann who have provided such vital support to us, especially during the pandemic,” Dr. Blaine said of the donation of the heavy face shields. “This donation helps address a critical need for our front-line health care professionals as they care for our community in the midst of the pandemic.”

The school district is sending approximately 2,000 heavy face shields to Memorial Hermann. The donation represents a portion of SBISD’s supply of face shields. The district will still have in stock more than 6,000 heavy face shields available for any teachers and staff who wish to use them.

At Monday’s meeting, the board will hold a public hearing on the adoption of the 2021 property tax rate for Spring Branch ISD. The proposed total tax rate is $1.3043 per $100 of property valuation, which is a decrease from 2020 tax rate of $1.3073.

SBISD’s property tax burden is one of the lowest in the Houston area. The owners of a $500,000 home in Spring Branch would pay $4,891 in annual property tax under the proposed new rate, far less than property owners in most other school districts, as the chart shows.

Also Monday, the Board of Trustees will recognize Spring Branch Academic Institute (SBAI) student Andrew Lau as the Math League National Third Grade Division Champion for 2020-2021. Throughout the school year, Andrew competed both individually and as part of a three-member SBAI team at the local, state, and national levels. Due to Covid restrictions, competitions were held online.

With 399 students from more than 200 schools competing at the national level, Andrew won First Place in the Third Grade Division in June. Additionally, the SBAI Third Grade team, including Andrew, William Santoso, and Audrey Wu earned the highest score for the Team Round, garnering SBAI a 7th place Sweepstakes finish.

The school board will receive a symbolic check from the Spring Branch Education Foundation. For the seventh consecutive year, the foundation has gifted more than $1 million to Spring Branch ISD. 

The board also will hold an executive session during the meeting to discuss routine personnel matters and litigation.