Clear Creek ISD officials will hold a handful of community meetings to take questions and give information on the district’s voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, and its $302 million bond on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to a release from the district.

Two-minute impact

With less than two months before voters will decide on a number of financial asks from CCISD, district officials are getting the word out on what each could mean to the district and taxpayers.

Officials will do so in a series of meetings taking place from late September through early October. Those meetings, according to a release from the district, will be held:
  • Sept. 20 at Clear Creek High School, 2305 E. Main St., League City
  • Sept. 27 at Clear Brook High School, 4607 FM 2351, Friendswood
  • Oct. 3 at Clear Falls High School, 4380 Village Way, League City
  • Oct. 5 at Clear Lake High School, 2929 Bay Area Blvd., Houston
  • Oct. 12 at Clear Springs High School, 501 Palomino Lane, League City
All meetings will take place at 6 p.m., according to the release.

Background


CCISD officials have approved three propositions for November’s ballot. Two of them are for the bond. They are broken down by:
  • Proposition A: Voting to add $17.4 million to the district’s budget
  • Proposition B: Voting to give the district $265 million in facility upgrades as part of the bond
  • Proposition C: Voting to give the district $37 million for technology as part of the bond
The district’s newest budget has a shortfall of more than $17 million, which the VATRE would help fill and allow the district to break even in fiscal year 2023-24. If approved, that money would go toward the district’s day-to-day operations.

The VATRE would add 3 cents to the district’s overall tax rate, which would add about $80 onto a $385,000 home’s tax bill. Even if approved, taxpayers can still expect to save about $670 compared to last year’s tax bill due to recent state legislation that compressed tax rates across Texas, according to district documents.

On the other side, the bond, if approved, would go toward what district officials have described as “priority one” upgrades for maintenance and infrastructure across 40 of the district’s schools.

If approved, the bond would not affect 2023 tax bills but could have an impact on 2024, officials said in September.


Originally, the district considered a bond totaling $614 million but opted to include just parts of it in November’s election, with the potential for the remainder to appear in a later election.