If approved, the VATRE could generate $20.1 million annually in additional revenue for SISD as the district faces a nearly $12 million general fund budget shortfall for fiscal year 2024-25. Staff raises and filling the budget gap are the main priorities leaders have pegged for the VATRE funding, should it be approved in November.
“The need for the VATRE ... is the lack of state funding, the continued inflationary cost pressure and then, of course, the need to return to financial stability,” Chief Financial Officer Ann Westbrooks said Aug. 13.
The context
On Aug. 13, SISD’s trustees unanimously added the VATRE—which would make the district’s FY 2024-25 total tax rate $1.1569 per $100 valuation—to the Nov. 5 ballot. The rate up for voter consideration is a 4.3% increase from the previous fiscal year.
“What we’re asking of our taxpayers is something that we shouldn’t have to ask, but we do need to make decisions in this district based on what’s best for our students, so we sometimes have to make tough decisions,” board Vice President Winford Adams Jr. said Aug. 13.
Other Houston-area school districts are facing FY 2024-25 budget shortfalls, and a few have also responded by calling for VATREs.
On Aug. 19, Montgomery ISD’s board of trustees called for a $5.5 million VATRE for November as the district faces a $4.3 million shortfall, as previously reported by Community Impact. Meanwhile, Magnolia ISD does not face a budget shortfall, but trustees sent a $7.4 million VATRE to November’s ballots on Aug. 12 to help fund teacher raises.
The breakdown
Should the VATRE be approved in November, it would generate:
- $9.4 million in local revenue
- $10.7M million in state revenue
- $586.93 more per student
- Reducing the $12 million FY 2024-25 budget shortfall to less than $1 million
- 2% pay raises for all staff
- Additional pay equity adjustments for teachers with three to 24 years of experience
SISD trustees have been discussing a potential VATRE since March, Community Impact reported. As the topic was placed on meeting agendas, community members have spoken for and against the election.
“I know that there’s a lack of funding, however, your funding is not in our bank accounts. ... Go get your funding from [Gov.] Greg Abbott,” Michelle Williams, a SISD taxpayer, said during a June 6 board meeting. “He withheld the funding that you need for your school district.”
SISD staff members have also been outspoken about the VATRE, including Paul Chubinski—a SISD teacher and Spring American Federation of Teachers representative—who spoke at the Aug. 13 meeting.
"This currently proposed VATRE and the 2% raise proposed for all staff, although good, will still not be enough to keep pace with the cost of benefits and inflation,” Chubinski said. “However, the prospect of eliminating our debt will put this board and this district in a position to become more competitive with surrounding districts, more equitable and more inclusive.”
- “We would not be having to do this if the Texas Legislature were taking their responsibility, which is in the Texas Constitution, to support public education," said Deborah Jensen, SISD trustee, at the Aug. 13 board meeting.
- “It’s a tough decision to make. It’s one that I’m struggling with, but ... I don’t know if ... I am comfortable sitting here going against [the VATRE] and not allowing the community to make that decision for us," said Justine Durant, SISD board president, at the Aug. 13 board meeting.
Before approving the election, SISD trustees ordered a survey, estimated to cost $21,000-$28,000, on whether the community would support the VATRE.
The survey—which was conducted in late April—received about 300 responses, according to a May 9 presentation from polling firm Baselice & Associates, Inc., which conducted the survey. Results showed the majority of survey respondents were at least somewhat in favor of the tax rate increase.
What's next
Since SISD trustees passed the FY 2024-25 budget accounting for VATRE revenue that depends on voters’ decision in November, the budget will need to be adjusted if the tax rate election doesn’t pass, Westbrooks said June 11. If this happens, the new budget totals will be presented to trustees as part of a budget update in February. District leaders will also need to find another way to address the $12 million budget shortfall, Westbrooks said during an Aug. 30 community luncheon.
On Aug. 13, Adams said the board and SISD leaders need to “keep that same energy” for local legislative elections as for the VATRE.
“The state doesn’t seem to be feeling any pressure to adequately fund public schools, and that’s a function of election outcomes. ... So we have to mobilize our community to make them see that there’s a very definite downside to not honoring their constitutional obligation,” Adams said.
Path to the ballot
- April 2024: District collects community feedback on VATRE
- June 11: SISD board passes balanced FY 2024-25 budget that includes $20.1 million in potential VATRE revenue; selects VATRE audit firm
- Aug. 13: Trustees all VATRE to be held in November
- Sept. 5: Trustees hear results of mandatory VATRE efficiency audit
- Nov. 5: VATRE goes before voters for consideration
- February 2025: If VATRE isn't approved, SISD leaders would remove VATRE revenue from the budget and present adjustments to trustees
