Unofficial voting results show Proposition A—Liberty Hill ISD’s voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, to raise its tax rate—failing by a narrow margin.
Meanwhile, voters passed Proposition B, which allows the district to begin paying recapture.
The results
In the Nov. 5 election, 50.65% of voters, or 10,288 people, cast their ballot against Prop A, while 49.35%, or 10,023, voted in favor of it, according to unofficial results from Williamson County.
For Proposition B, 53.39% of voters, or 10,665 people, passed the measure, while 46.61%, 9,311, voted against it.
What they’re saying
Superintendent Steven Snell told Community Impact he is appreciative of voters allowing LHISD to maintain local control of its property values through Prop B.
Meanwhile, the failure of Prop A may cause LHISD to fall behind other districts in offering competitive teacher pay, he said.
"[I’m] very thankful that the community supported Prop B as we approach recapture,” Snell said. “Prop A, of course, is disappointing. We have 1,400 employees and families that won’t be getting a pay raise this year.”
The district’s projected $7.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 will be “devastating” to its fund balance, he said. Next year, LHISD will need to pass a balanced budget that could require cutting millions in expenditures as the district gains around 1,000 students, Snell said.
LHISD officials will advocate for increased funding at the Texas Legislature during the 89th legislative session next year, he said. Snell said there is a “strong possibility” the district will need to call another VATRE in November 2025.
“At the end of the day, Liberty Hill did not want to increase taxes, but it was the only recourse we had for a state that refuses to fund public education appropriately,” Snell said.
Something to note
About 69% of registered voters in Williamson County participated in the Nov. 5 election with 309,997 ballots cast, according to county data.
Posted Nov. 5, 8 p.m.
Liberty Hill ISD Proposition A is failing by a narrow margin while voters are favoring Proposition B, early voting results from Williamson County show.
What you need to know
In the Nov. 5 election, Liberty Hill ISD voters will decide whether to approve an increase to the district’s tax rate through Proposition A.
Unofficial early voting results show 8,758 voters, or 51.19%, cast their ballot against Prop A while 8,350 voters, or 48.81%, voted in favor.
Additionally, the district asked voters to approve Prop B, which would allow the district to purchase attendance credits to begin paying recapture.
For Prop B, 8,948 voters, or 53.15%, cast their ballot for the measure while 46.85% have voted against.
On the ballot
Through Prop A, the district asked voters to approve a maintenance and operations, or M&O, tax rate of $0.7269 per $100 valuation, which is almost $0.06 higher than the FY 2023-24 tax rate of $0.6692 per $100 valuation. The district is required to get voter approval for a tax rate greater than $0.6669 per $100 valuation, Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Guerrero said.
The interest and sinking, or I&S, tax rate will remain at $0.50 per $100 valuation, making for a combined tax rate of $1.2269 per $100 valuation, Guerrero said.
Under the higher tax rate, LHISD would be required to begin paying a portion of its local property taxes to the state through a process known as recapture. Prop B would allow the district to purchase attendance credits needed to make these payments.
If recapture payments are required and voters do not approve Prop B, the state could seize property values in LHISD and redirect those property tax dollars to other school districts, Guerrero said.
The impact
If Prop A passes, homeowners with a median home value of $462,264 could expect to pay $4,444 in school property taxes in fiscal year 2024-25, which is an estimated $217 increase from what homeowners would pay if it does not pass, according to district information.
The background
LHISD called its first voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, as it faces a projected $7.5 million budget shortfall for FY 2024-25. Without a tax rate increase, the district is projected to deplete its fund balance by 2026, district documents show.
The district has faced rising expenses as it opens new campuses and grows its student enrollment, district officials said. Meanwhile, the basic allotment of state funding per student has remained unchanged since 2019 alongside some cuts to state and federal funding.
If approved, Prop A would allow the district to generate an additional $6.2 million after paying around $618,000 in recapture, Guerrero said. The district would use some of this revenue to provide staff a 2% midpoint salary raise and fund student programs.
Since 2018, the district's M&O tax rate has decreased by $0.375 due to compression from the state as property values grow, according to district information.
Also of note
Over 262,00 ballots were cast in Williamson County during the 12-day early voting period from Oct. 21-Nov. 1, representing nearly 60% of registered voters in the county.
Voting totals from Election Day Nov. 5 have not been released yet as polls were open until 7 p.m. or until those in line cast their vote.
Stay tuned
This article will be updated as election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit Community Impact’s voter guide to view results for all local races.
