District overview

Bonham Independent School District

Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.

How is Bonham ISD paid for, and who decides?

A five-campus Fannin County district paid for by local property tax, state aid and construction bonds

Bonham ISD serves about 1,920 students on five campuses. Its 2026-27 general fund plans $25.0 million in spending. Seven trustees, each holding a numbered place, adopt the budget and tax rate, set policy and supervise the superintendent, Dr. Lance Hamlin.

$25.0M general fund

2026-27 approved spending, against $24.0 million in revenue; the $1.0 million gap comes from savings.

Tax rate $1.0088

Set Sept. 15, 2025 for tax year 2025: $0.6669 for operations and $0.3419 for bond debt, raising a $16.0 million levy.

$5.0M debt service

Yearly bond payments in the 2026-27 budget, paid by the separate debt tax.

14 uncertified teachers

May 2026 count, down from 39 in May 2025, according to the superintendent.

The district's own agendas and minutes are on BoardBook, which this site cannot collect. This page uses the district's agendas as reposted in full by North Texas e-News, plus that paper's meeting recaps, so the outcome of many items is not known.

Where the district stands

2026-27 general fund spendingverified

25,025,021 USD

Up from $23,024,563 in 2025-26.

2026-27 planned use of savingsverified

1,014,081 USD

Up from $532,192 in 2025-26.

Total tax rate per $100 (tax year 2025)verified

1.009 USD

Uncertified (DOI) teachers, May 2026verified

14 teachers

Down from 39 in May 2025.

Major projects

L.H. Rather Junior High construction

phase 1 opened; phase 2 under way

Bond money is paying to rebuild L.H. Rather Junior High. Trustees attended a ribbon cutting in January 2026 and said they look forward to phase 2. The board approved more construction contract work in January and a partial release of the contractor's held-back payment in March, and a practice field contract in April.

Next: Phase 2 completion date is not posted.

Jan 12, 2026Construction contract over $25,000 approved; ribbon cutting praised
Mar 23, 2026Partial contractor retainage release on agenda
Apr 20, 2026L.H. Rather practice field contract on agenda

Funding

Voter-approved bond funds (2023-24 bond)

State improvement plans for low-rated campuses

public hearing scheduled

Evans and Finley-Oates need Targeted Improvement Plans because of low state ratings, and L.H. Rather has a Local Improvement Plan. The board approved a Finley-Oates plan in December 2025.

Next: Public hearing Nov. 9, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Dec 15, 2025Finley-Oates Targeted Improvement Plan approved
Nov 9, 2026Public hearing on 2026-27 plans

Funding

District general fund; no separate budget posted

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Board agendas from November 2025 through October 2026 were collected from North Texas e-News (ntxe-news.com), which reposts each district-issued agenda in full under the byline 'Bonham ISD'. That paper's meeting recaps and district announcements were also collected, along with budgets, tax resolutions, plans and board documents from bonhamisd.org.

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