With final votes tallied in Travis County, Eanes ISD's Proposition A passed with 62.5%, or 13,545 votes, in favor.
The election engaged over 21,000 voters, according to information from the district; however, all results are unofficial until canvassed by the county clerk.
"This approval is crucial to our budget and our efforts to recruit and retain quality staff, maintain class sizes and operate with a small surplus rather than a deficit," Superintendent Tom Leonard said.
Original story: Early voting results show Eanes ISD’s voter-approved tax rate election advancing as ballot counts come in Nov. 3, according to county data.
Some 63.17% of residents, or 12,813, voted in favor of the initiative, while 36.83% voted against.
The tax rate election—often referred to as a "golden penny election"—would allow the district to shift its tax rate formula by seeking two golden pennies, which are pennies within the maintenance and operations, or M&O, tax bill that fund an ISD’s day-to-day operations.
An increase of two golden pennies would allow EISD to generate approximately $3.3 million in local funding.
EISD Superintendent Tom Leonard previously told Community Impact Newspaper that because those pennies are not subject to recapture payments, which are annual payments that ISDs contribute to the state, they are very valuable to the district.
If approved, the total tax rate would be $1.1164 per $100 valuation, a decrease from the 2019-20 rate of $1.13 per $100 valuation.
The rate represents a golden penny increase of $0.02, consequently raising the M&O rate from a proposed $0.9764 to $0.9964. The district will also decrease its interest and sinking rate, or debt services rate, by the same amount, which will resultin no increase in the overall tax bill.
Results are updated as of 7:10 p.m. and are unofficial until they are canvassed and certified by the county clerk. Under Texas election law, the clerk accepts and counts mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 4, if they were sent from inside the U.S., or Nov. 9, if they were sent from outside the U.S.
