The proposed tax rate is broken down into two components: $0.9196 designated for maintenance and operations and $0.3956 for the interest and sinking fund, or debt.
“If the VATRE doesn’t pass ... it is going to reduce our maintenance and operations,” PISD Board Vice President Jeff Barry said.
Maintenance and operations accounts for salaries, capital improvements and even allowances to campuses, Barry said. The second component—the interest and sinking fund—is used to pay for debt on construction, equipment or both, according to agenda documents.
If approved, the total district tax rate would decrease by $0.0033 compared to the rate from fiscal year 2020-21, which was $1.3185. If the VATRE passes, PISD taxpayers will save $3.30 per $100,000 of property valuation compared to the FY 2020-21 rate, PISD Chief Financial Officer Jorgannie Garza Carter said.
If the VATRE does not pass, the tax rate would be $1.2852, broken down into $0.8896 for maintenance and operations, and the interest and sinking fund staying put at $0.3956, the district confirmed in an email. PISD taxpayers would save $33.30 per a $100,000 home compared to the FY 2020-21 rate, but the district would lose out on the additional $7.4 million in funding, Carter said.
“It’s going to take every single one of us to explain these questions and work together to get this thing across the finish line,” PISD board member Crystal Carbone said.
