Liberty Hill ISD seeks new funding From the cover
Two-minute impact
Historical tax rates in Liberty Hill ISD
Maintenance and operations
Interest and sinking
$0.5 $1 $1.5 $2
LHISD is looking to propose a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, this November. This would increase a homeowner’s annual property tax bill by $341 in FY 2025-26 based on a median home value of $516,513, Chief Financial Ocer Rosanna Guerrero said. If the election is not successful, district leaders say $4 million in additional cuts could be coming. “We want to be able to say that we’re providing the best educational experience,” interim Superintendent Travis Motal said. “It’s going to be hard to do that if we keep having to cut, cut, cut, cut just to get to a balanced budget.” District ocials told Community Impact they are hopeful that this year’s calendar, which features many four-day school weeks, will provide greater support to teachers who may be impacted by the loss of support sta due to budget cuts. “That voter-approved tax ratication election is to potentially add $10 million back into that hole that’s been dug,” Motal said. “We want to remain a top district in Williamson County.” The district made around $8 in budget cuts over the past two scal years and is projected to realize a $2 million budget decit in FY 2024-25.
$1.54
$1.47
$1.36
$1.3647
$1.3446
$1.2389
$1.1692
$1.1669
$0
2019-20
2023-24
2022-23
2018-19
2020-21
2024-25
2025-26
2021-22
Fiscal year
THE FY 202526 TAX RATE MUST BE APPROVED BY THE MAJORITY OF DISTRICT VOTERS NOV. 4.
2025 26 Budget surplus LHISD adopted an $105.9 million balanced operating budget for scal year 2025-26. If voters approve a $0.07 tax rate increase, LHISD could generate $10.9 million in additional revenue.
Impact to homeowners Fiscal year 2024-25 • Median home value: $469,557 • Homestead exemption: $100,000 • Tax rate: $1.1669 • LHISD taxes: $4,324 per year/$360 per month Fiscal year 2025-26 • Median home value: $516,513 • *Homestead exemption: $140,000 • Tax rate: $1.2389 • LHISD taxes: $4,665 per year/$389 per month If approved, the VATRE would raise property taxes by: • $341 a year • $29 per month • $1 per day
Expenses
Revenue
VATRE does not pass $105.9M $105.9M
Balanced
VATRE passes $118.4M $107.5M
$10.9M surplus
*TEXAS VOTERS MUST APPROVE INCREASING THE STATEWIDE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION TO $140,000 IN A NOV. ELECTION."
SOURCE: LIBERTY HILL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Projected enrollment in Liberty Hill ISD
Some context
One more thing
Enrollment
Projected enrollment
LHISD is undergoing sweeping changes this school year to prepare for fast enrollment growth while facing budgetary constraints. The district’s enrollment of over 10,000 stu- dents is expected to nearly double to nearly 19,500 students by the 2034-35 school year, according to data from Zonda Demographics. This school year, the district will hire additional teachers to accom- modate growth and sta three new campuses opening in 2026. In the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers increased school funding by $8.4 billion. Bob Popinski, dean of policy for educational advocacy group Raise Your Hand Texas, said new funding under House Bill 2 was “well short of what school districts needed” to keep up with rising costs of utilities and fuel along with keeping sta salaries competitive. The basic allotment of funding per student, which increased by $55 under HB 2, would need to be raised by $1,400 to account for ination, Popinksi said. “We would need roughly $19.8 billion for the next
Under LHISD’s new calendar, teachers will have time for professional development in the morning and a teacher work day in the afternoon on Fridays when students do not attend school. In September, LHISD community member Rachael Dunn will open Panther House Friday School to provide education and extracurricular programming for around 30 elementary students when school is not in session.
+299.32%
20K
15K
19,479
10K
5K
4,878
0
School year
two years just to keep school districts level with their purchasing power from 2019,” Popinski said. The $12.7 million in HB 2 funding does not fully cover the district’s expenses for insurance and utilities, safety and security as well as special edu- cation evaluations, Guerrero said. HB 2 provides $2,500-$5,000 raises for teachers, but the district must pay for the benets, Guerrero said.
“We know it’s not ideal, but … if we want the same high-quality expectation that we have in the classroom, we have to be able to give our teachers time in order to be ready for that.” TRAVIS MOTAL, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT
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