China Spring ISD announced it will hold a Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election, or VATRE, on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
Residents will be asked to approve a 92-cent maintenance and operations tax rate for the district.
The measure would raise the district’s Maintenance & Operation (M&O) rate by six cents, generating about $2.16 million. Superintendent Mark Faulkner said most of that revenue would come from state funds already set aside for VATRE participants.
“Fifty-six percent of that is paid for by state funds, and 44 percent would be coming from taxpayers,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner said the district has been operating in a deficit for three years, using savings to balance budgets. He pointed to inflation and limits in the state’s school funding formula as key reasons for the shortfall.
Since 2019, districts have only received new money when they added students. For China Spring, enrollment has remained flat since the pandemic, while costs rose sharply.
“We’re to the point though that we have no savings funds left to be able to use to make up those deficit budgets,” he said. “We either have to balance the budget or bring in more revenue.”
The proposed overall tax rate of 98 cents is still an almost 4-cent decrease from last year’s $1.01 rate. But state law requires ballot language to begin with the words “This is a tax increase.”
“What that is, is an increase of what the tax rate could be without the VATRE,” Faulkner said.
The district says the additional money would support recruiting and retaining teachers, keeping class sizes manageable, and funding academic and extracurricular programs.
“Our community told us they want us to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, maintain manageable class sizes, and continue to support programs that make our schools great,” Faulkner said. “That’s where these funds will go.”
Some residents have questioned why a bond election isn’t being used instead. Faulkner explained that bond measures can only fund construction and facilities, while a VATRE applies to the district’s operating budget — paying salaries, utilities and day-to-day costs.
If voters reject the proposal, Faulkner said the board will have to make difficult cuts.
“The consequences will be programming cuts, and staffing cuts … larger class sizes, fewer bus routes, possible extracurricular fees and a general decrease in supplies and activities,” he said.
China Spring is one of the few Central Texas districts that has not previously passed a VATRE. Neighboring districts including Waco, Midway, La Vega and Robinson have already done so, giving them access to millions more in state funds for years.
The district will hold both virtual and in-person community meetings on the proposal ahead of Election Day.
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