BY WESLEY GARDNER & EMILY LINCKE CONTRIBUTIONS BY DANICA LLOYD & HANNAH NORTON
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Diving in deeper
If a board of trustees approves a tax rate above the voter-approval tax rate, voters then must con- sider the tax rate in an election. SISD’s FY 2023-24 maintenance and operations tax rate is $0.6692 per $100 valuation, but the proposed VATRE would put SISD’s FY 2024-25 M&O rate at $0.7192
A bill was proposed during the 88th legislative session that would have provided $8 billion in funding for public education and teacher stipends, state Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, said. The bill included funding for private school vouchers and eventually died. He said public education funding will likely be proposed in the 89th legislative session. If legislators do not provide more funding in the upcoming session, SISD will likely need to make more staff cuts, reduce programs and services, and increase class sizes, Westbrooks said in a July 30 email. “Our ability to maintain the quality of education and support services for our students will be compromised, affecting their academic performance and overall well-being,” Westbrooks said.
and generate an additional $20.4 million annually for the district, Westbrooks said. A possible November VATRE included in SISD’s budget would potentially cover the district’s remaining anticipated budget gap and pay for 2% raises for staff.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
Feb.
2024
2025
April: District officials collect community feedback on a potential SISD VATRE
June 11: SISD trustees pass a
Aug. 8: Last day
Aug. 19: Deadline for trustees to call a VATRE for the Nov. 5 election
Nov. 5: If called, the VATRE would go before voters for consideration
February: If the VATRE is not approved, SISD leaders would remove VATRE revenue from the FY 2024-25 budget and present adjustments to trustees
balanced FY 2024-25 general fund budget that includes $20.4M in potential VATRE revenue
for trustees to approve SISD’s annual tax rate
SOURCE: SPRING ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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SPRING - KLEIN EDITION
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