What’s happening
If approved, Proposition A on the ballot would raise the fiscal year 2024-25 tax rate to $0.9505 per $100 valuation, a $0.091 increase from the current rate of $0.8595 per $100 valuation. This means homeowners with an average value home—which has taxable value of $554,493—would see an increase of $34 in property taxes, or $412 total for the year, according to district officials.
AISD officials estimate the tax increase would bring in $171 million in additional revenue, but will keep about 24% of the revenue, $41 million, due to recapture—when the state takes a portion of local tax dollars from property-wealthy districts. About 76% of the revenue from the tax-rate election, if passed, would go to recapture.
The additional $41 million in revenue would go toward salaries, operating expenses and balancing the budget deficit, district officials said. An estimated $17.8 million would go toward a compensation plan to increase pay for 85% of regular benefit-eligible district employees, including teachers, librarians, counselors and other instructional staff.
About $20 million will go toward offsetting the budget deficit and increasing savings, and $3.2 million will go toward additional campus support, such as instructional coaches and special education.
Those not receiving pay raises are in administrative positions, AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said at a news conference Oct. 22.
How we got here
In August, AISD passed a measure to place a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, on the November ballot. The measure passed 8-1 with trustee Kevin Foster voting no.
The measure passed as the district faces a budget deficit. AISD seeks to use revenue from the VATRE as a way to acquire additional funding. AISD officials said the deficit is in part due to actions at the state level, as previously reported by Community Impact.
District officials point to issues with the basic student allotment as a setback to receiving funding. The basic student allotment is money a district receives from the state, based on enrollment and attendance. There have been no changes in Texas to the basic student allotment, which has stood at $6,160 per student since 2019. Texas is $4,000 below the national average, according to public education advocacy group Raise Your Hand Texas.
Segura said the VATRE is one of the few ways to generate revenue, offer pay increases and avoid additional cuts as the district receives less state funding. If Proposition A does not pass, he said the district will struggle to offer additional pay.
“We would be extremely limited in our ability to offer raises until something in the funding methodology changes, or we as an organization agree to something very different that I know doesn't align with our community values,” he said at a press meeting Oct. 22.
Regardless if the VATRE passes, Segura said AISD is currently working toward identifying an additional $90 million in cuts.
“We are going to do our best to take them in a way that provides dignity to our staff, dignity to the system, dignity to our community, so everybody understands what's going to occur and when it's going to occur,” Segura said.
What others are saying
On Oct. 17, 10 former AISD board members released a letter criticizing Proposition A, stating a lack of transparency about the VATRE and a “high expense to taxpayers” with “minimal benefit to students, the district or public education as a whole.”
Amber Elenz, who signed the letter and served on the AISD board of trustees from November 2012 to January 2021, said the district has not been clear about 24% of annual tax revenue going to the district, while 76% goes to recapture.
“Every year until this changes, we are going to be sending the state hundreds of millions of dollars to do whatever they want,” she said.
Elenz also voiced concerns about the district’s relationship with the public, saying that the communication about the proposition has been unclear and can lead to distrust.
“We depend on the voters in the community supporting public education and supporting and believing us and trusting us,” she said. “The direction they’re taking this is going to be the downfall of that trust is my concern.”
In the letter from former board members, they criticized raising teacher salaries while simultaneously raising taxes.
“While we agree that fair teacher compensation is a priority, the average net pay increase the tax raise would yield would be eaten up by property tax and new AISD employee insurance premium increases,” they said. “It feels like handing AISD staff a raise with one hand and taking it away with the other.”
Ken Zarifis, president of AISD employee union Education Austin, said while the tax raise is not ideal, teachers will still reap benefits from the increase in salary even with tax raises, as many teachers are not homeowners.
“This teaching profession doesn't provide a wage for a lot of people to even buy a house,” he said.
Zarifis said the proposed pay raise is “not enough,” and teachers are “underpaid and overworked,” but he views Proposition A as a step forward in teacher pay.
Zarifis also said the proposition goes beyond teacher salaries.
“What's more important than the pay raises is the fact that we can keep our district stable for another year so that we can get to another legislative session in hopes of additional funding,” he said. “This won't fix anything. This just keeps us stable for the time being, and that keeps our school stable for our kids.”
Salary increases by the numbers
Potential salary increases are based on pay grade, years of experience at the district and market adjustments.
Projected salary increases for teachers and librarians specifically range from 0.86% in increases for those with less than a year of experience at the district, to 8.32% for those with 22 years of experience.
According to district documents, teachers with 11 or more years at AISD will receive a more than 2% salary increase. Those with 10 years or less experience will receive between a 0.86% to a 1.9% increase.
There are over 1,800 teachers with 11 or more years in the district, making up about 40% of over 4,400 teachers at AISD, according to the 2022-23 Texas Education Agency Texas Academic Performance Report. This means that a little over 1,800 teachers will see a pay increase of 2% or more. Over 2,500 teachers, 57% of district teachers, will see less than a 2% increase in pay.
The average years of experience with the district for AISD teachers is 8.4 years, according to the 2022-23 TEA TAPR. Those with eight years of experience will receive a 1.18% increase.
The average salary for a teacher with six to 10 years of experience is $62,366.02, meaning that the new tax rate will add an additional estimated $735.92 to the average teacher salary. Those receiving the lowest raise — teachers with less than a year of experience — will see an estimated $485.90 increase in pay, while those with the most experience receiving the highest raise—teachers with 22 years of experience—will receive an estimated $5,660.23 increase in salary. This is based on calculations from the 2022-23 TEA TAPR salary numbers, the 2023 AISD salary raise and projected salary increases from Proposition A.
If the VATRE does not pass, regular full-time employees will receive a one-time $500 stipend. Regular employees that are not full-time but benefits-eligible will receive a $250 stipend. This would go into effect by mid-December.
If the VATRE does pass, salary increases will be reflected on mid-December paychecks.
What’s next?
Early voting on Proposition A and November election items is underway through Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5.
More election coverage from Community Impact, including updates on election night, is available online.
