Education
BY BRITTANY ANDERSON & ELLE BENT
Dripping Springs ISD o cials adopt tax rate The Dripping Springs ISD board adopted a scal year 2024-25 tax rate of $1.1052 per $100 valuation, a slight decrease from FY 2023-24 at $1.1075 per $100 valuation. The overview The total tax rate consists of $0.7552 for main- tenance and operations and $0.35 for interest and sinking. Maintenance and operations funds district operating costs, such as employee salaries and utility bills. This is subject to recapture, when the state collects property tax revenue from districts. The interest and sinking rate generates revenue used to pay o voter-approved debt. The background In June, DSISD o cials adopted an operating budget of $100.39 million with a shortfall of $2.77
What’s on the ballot for Austin ISD voters? Austin ISD voters will weigh on two con- tested board of trustees seats and a potential tax rate increase this November. For the AISD board of trustees, 10 can- didates are running. Incumbents Kevin Foster and Lynn Boswell are uncontested for districts 3 and 5, respectively. Ofelia Zapata will not run for re-election for District 2, nor will Noelita Lugo for the at-large position. Voters will decide between two district 2 candidates and six at-large candidates. AISD o cials are also asking for a prop- erty tax increase to o set a $119 million budget de cit. If approved, it’s predicted to generate $171 million in revenue under a tax rate of $0.9505 per $100 valuation. This would be a $34-per-month increase to the average homeowner, or an estimated $412 per year.
Tax rate history The tax rate for Dripping Springs ISD homeowners has slightly decreased over the past 10 years.
$2
$1.1052
$1.5
$1
$0.5
$0
Fiscal year
SOURCE: DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
million for FY 2024-25. The budget includes a 1% pay increase for sta . DSISD will lose about $9.46 million to recapture, which is budgeted for within the $100.39 million general fund, as previously reported by Commu- nity Impact. The scal year began Oct. 1.
Austin- area districts see uptick in school threats
“Many of us are running de cit budgets at this moment and so this additional
cost is something that isn’t budgeted for. But, we have to ensure that our o cers are paid to do this very important work.” MATIAS SEGURA, AUSTIN ISD SUPERINTENDENT
AISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed said that all threats will be investigated and pursued, regard- less of when they occur. Law enforcement agencies are working late hours to investigate, putting a weight on their resources and expending overtime, Segura said. O cials have asked parents to talk to their children about responsible social media use and making appropriate jokes.
Local districts have seen an uptick in stu- dent-made threats against schools since the start of the academic year, said Austin ISD Superinten- dent Matias Segura. AISD is one of several Austin-metro school dis- tricts that have had students arrested for making threats. According to Travis County District Attor- ney José Garza, there are at least 30 cases pending in the DA o ce related to these threats.
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