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The Leander ISD board of trustees is still weighing whether a multimillion-dollar bond and voter-approval tax rate election will be on the November ballot.
The board discussed the potential VATRE, including its anticipated taxpayer impact, and reviewed a potential bond timeline at its Aug. 6 meeting.
The discussion
According to Executive Director of Business Gina Mitschke, the district received its certified property values in July, showing a decrease of 1.26%.
The proposed fiscal year 2026-27 tax rate with a VATRE is $1.1169 per $100 of valuation, and $1.0869 without a VATRE.
Based on LISD's average taxable value home of $460,292, taxpayers could expect to see an annual increase of $27.56 with a VATRE, or an annual decline of $110.53 without a VATRE.
Something to note
LISD voters last approved a VATRE in 2022, Mitschke said.
Through this VATRE, LISD pursued three golden pennies and six of the nine remaining copper pennies. The pennies represent a funding system that helps school districts garner additional state funding. While 100% of golden penny revenues remain within the district, a portion of copper penny revenues are subject to being recaptured by the state.
The 2022 VATRE brought in about $32 million in additional flexible funding, which supported pay increases over three consecutive school years, Mitschke said.
According to Mitschke, LISD continues to face funding pressures such as:
If the VATRE is passed, district revenues would increase by $12 million, but about $5.3 million would be recaptured, Mitschke said. Still, an additional $3.6 million in revenues or expenditure reductions would be needed to provide a 2% pay increase in FY 2027-28.
"With or without a VATRE, the work has to continue," Mitschke said. "$6.7 million [in revenues] will assist the district in minimizing future reductions and at least giving a one-time [pay increase] and possibly something else. It gives us more flexibility that we need."
What else?
Members of LISD's Citizens' Facility Advisory Committee presented the board with a list of bond project recommendations at the July 30 board meeting. The multimillion-dollar bond package includes 13 elementary projects, 12 middle school projects, 11 information technology projects, 10 ancillary projects, 10 high school projects and eight safety and security projects.
Per the recommendations, a four-year bond cycle would result in a $708.5 million bond package, while a three-year bond cycle would cost $591.23 million.
Chief Operations Officer Jeremy Trimble said that if the board decides to defer the bond to May 2027, the district will need to manage the risks of delay.
"Beyond the day in November and May and any other date, our facilities and systems continue to age and the risks associated with that," Trimble said. "We're going to lay out a plan that we hope can mitigate some of that, but there are a whole lot of uncertainties and unknowns tied to that."
What's next
The board must call for an election by Aug. 17 in order to place the bond package or VATRE on the Nov. 3 ballot, and must also set the FY 2026-27 tax rate by then.
