Voters of Austin school districts will decide Nov. 5 whether to approve the 9.1-cent property tax increase, an increase that would generate $41 million in additional revenue for Austin schools at a time when districts across states have cut their budgets and are running large deficits.
Austin district officials have promised that if voters approve the higher tax rate, they would use the money to fund a $17.3 million compensation package for staff members and $3 million for instructional coaches, and to close the $119 million deficit in the district to help compensate.
Voters will decide whether to approve a school district tax rate of 95.05 cents per $100 of property assessment, which is 9.1 cents higher than the district’s 2023-2024 tax rate of 85.95 cents per $100 of assessment . If the election fails, tax rates for property owners will remain at 85.95 cents per $100 of assessment.
The higher tax rate would cost owners of a median-valued home in Austin an additional $420 annually.
If the tax rate election passes, Austin school officials could reduce the $119 million deficit to $78 million, the district said.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the district ended the fiscal year with a $52 million deficit.
During school board discussions leading up to the call for a vote, some board members expressed frustration with the state’s recapture program, which would cost about 75 cents of every dollar raised through the proposed tax increase. Local schools would keep only about 25% of the revenue raised, while the rest would be redistributed to poorer districts in the state through the recapture program, which has been in place in Texas for decades.
The recapture program collects money from districts that collect more property tax revenue than what the state determines the district needs to educate its students, and it redistributes that money to schools that do not collect enough property tax revenue to meet their state-determined financing. threshold value.
The district’s proposed $17.3 million employee compensation package would focus on pay increases for veteran teachers and would provide raises for nearly all of the district’s teaching and non-teaching support staff and support staff. About two-thirds of school district police would also get a pay increase.
Whether or not voters approve the tax rate election, Austin school officials expect to have to cut at least $78 million from the budget over the next two years. Officials have pledged to stay as far away from classrooms as possible amid these cuts, but Superintendent Matias Segura has said difficult choices lie ahead for school administrators.
Early voting begins on October 21. Election day is November 5.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin ISD voters to decide on property tax increase at election
