After much consideration and community input, the Austin independent School District (AISD) board approved a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE). On November 5, 2024, voters will be asked to approve a tax rate that exceeds the local government’s voter-approved tax cap.

The vote by AISD trustees was not unanimous. School Board Vice President, David Foster voted against the VATRE. He pointed out that the state has a budget surplus but it refuses to put that money toward public education. He went on to point out the fact that should the VATRE pass, it would put even more money in the state’s coffers. The VATRE is expected to raise $170 million, of that, $130 million would go back to the state.

While the other eight members of the school board agreed with Foster, they saw the need for funding as so critical and urgent that they voted in favor of putting the VATRE on the ballot. This leaves it in the hands of the voters.

How VATRE works:

• In Texas, school districts are subject to state laws that limit how much they can increase their property tax rates each year without voter approval.

• If a school district wants to adopt a tax rate that exceeds that cap, they must hold a VATRE and get voter approval. This tax rate is often needed to fund specific initiatives, maintain quality education, or compensate for shortfalls in funding.

Purpose for Austin ISD asking for a VATRE:

The Austin ISD board has voted to place a VATRE on the ballot primarily to give 60% of employees a raise. That means the district will use $17 million from the VATRE to increase pay for 6,500 employees. 

Why voters should care:

• A VATRE impacts the local property tax rate. If approved, it will increase the tax rate by 9.1 cents. This may be a concern for property owners, but renters will likely be impacted as well since the extra cost to the property owner can be passed along to the renter.

• The increase to taxes will be directed towards the school district’s needs (though Recapture diverts a huge percentage to the state rather than the school district).

• Homeowners who are 65 and older, as well as anyone with disabilities, should have a tax exemption. Therefore, this VATRE will not raise their property tax.

• The VATRE allows voters to have a direct say in funding their public schools. It’s an opportunity for the community to decide whether to provide additional financial support for education.

• This is also an opportunity for voters to reach out to their state representatives and voice their concerns about the state not increasing its funding to keep up with inflation.

What Voters should consider:

When voting on a VATRE, voters should consider how the additional funds will be used by the district and weigh the potential benefits to local schools against the increased financial burden on property owners.

There is also the consideration that this dire lack of funding is caused by the state not using money that it gained through recapture, as well as the state of Texas refusing to increase basic allotment. Basic allotment (see more on this below). 

A basic look at how Texas funds public schools:
The details of school funding in Texas will be addressed further in a future Worker Bee post, but for now, here are a few points to consider when thinking about VATRE.

1. Basic Allotment and Weights

   As mentioned above, the state of Texas funds public schools based on basic allotment (BA). This is an amount the Texas legislature sets and has not increased since 2019, despite inflationary prices rising to 19% on supplies, utilities and other operational expenses. Basic Allotment is not based on the actual cost of teaching each student, but on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Once BA is determined, there are weights to consider. Weights are additional funding a school might receive based on the school district and student characteristics. A few examples of weights could be how many students require special education, how many are socioeconomically disadvantaged, how many are in gifted and talented. This is the funding from the state. The school district also pays for public schools in property taxes collected from people living in the district.

2. What is Recapture, a.k.a. Robin Hood:

The Texas school finance system requires school districts whose property tax revenues exceed a certain threshold set by the state (BA) to share their excess revenue with the state. This excess money is then supposed to be redistributed to districts with lower property wealth. The reason given for this is to ensure that all schools in Texas have access to adequate funding, regardless of the local property tax base. Recapture began in 1993.

According to several sources, Texas ranks 41st in the nation for per-student public education. Meanwhile, the state has $33 billion in surplus, and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) totaled $2.4 trillion (this is according to the Texas Comptroller Office. June 2024).

Texas Comptroller info that is cited can be found at this website