I was reminded the other day that GRISD has an election also. I looked at GRISD’s website for information on VATRE. I don’t think I initially understood that this election was not to raise the tax rate but to determine how much local control a school district has to keep some monies raised THROUGH taxes for itself versus sending to the state of Texas. I welcome anyone who wants to make a comment about this and correct anything I don’t understand; most of the below is from some great articles as well as from GRISD’s website.
First, the GRISD board voted to set the tax rate to 0.7896 on August 19, 2024 . .7169 is for M&O and .0727 is for payment of principal and interest on debts. The difference, as far as I can see, from 2023 is that, although the tax rate is the same, .6692 was for M&O and .1204 was for principal and interest. Essentially, then GRISD wants to change the structure of the tax rate, to have more money go for M&0 and less for I&S
Here is the budget info (summary report) Note in this report that there are 0 dollars being used for facilities acquisition and construction… ? Here is the total approved budget This, for comparison, is the bond election of 2023 showing priority bond projects. At no place on this list is the Expo shown; maybe it doesn’t have to be if GRISD board trustees vote to spend money on This versus That from bond money but at least in the information initially presented for citizens to vote on the bond, the Expo was not included.
Great article from the Texas AFT
In short, a VATRE allows a school district to ask voters for permission to adopt a tax rate that exceeds the district’s state-calculated MCR plus the greater of five “golden” pennies or the number of Tier II voter-authorized enrichment pennies set in the prior year to generate additional revenue for operational expenses. This additional M&O revenue can be used to fund critical needs, like providing competitive salaries to attract and retain high-quality educators and investing in essential educational programs and resources.
Again, as noted above, GRISD at this point is not increasing the tax rate. From TexasATF
The push for VATREs is a direct result of the Texas Legislature’s failure to adequately fund public education, despite having ample resources to do so. In the most recent legislative session, state leaders had access to a historic surplus and billions in unspent funds specifically allocated for schools. However, instead of using these resources to support public education, they chose to prioritize tax cuts and allowed Gov. Greg Abbott to hold school funding hostage in an attempt to force through an unpopular voucher scheme that would further drain resources from public schools.
Contrary to claims made by some politicians that schools are “better funded than ever,” the reality is that per-student funding in Texas has decreased when accounting for inflation. The basic allotment, which is the primary mechanism for funding public education in the state, has not been increased since 2019, leaving districts struggling to keep up with rising costs and unfunded mandates, such as the recently passed school safety requirements, that place a significant financial burden on schools without providing adequate resources to implement them effectively.
As the school funding crisis gains lawmakers’ attention, it is becoming increasingly clear that VATREs, while a valuable tool, are ultimately a Band-Aid solution to a much larger, systemic problem. While successful VATREs can provide much-needed relief to districts in the short term, they also place the burden on local communities to make up for the state’s shortcomings in fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide a high-quality public education for all Texas students.
Unfortunately, the House and Senate interim charges glaringly omit any charges related to resolving the looming school finance crisis. The charges also fail to address the need for increased compensation or improved working conditions for educators and school employees, who are leaving the profession in droves.
Don’t get me wrong. I am 100 percent for public education funded by taxpayers and I’m utterly disgusted by the Republicans in the Texas Lege for who consistently underfund education. (Too busy fighting the federal government, I guess) . Makes me feel like they want a dumb and clueless populace. I am also completely against Helen Kerwin and her maga daughter who want to take tax money and turn into public vouchers, which.. gut education money. Blame kook Greg Abbott for that. However, she was voted in and the current Texas Lege house rep was against the school voucher scheme. Incidentally, this was an informative flyer, FROM the Glen Rose ISD website that talked about the issue of private-school vouchers Along with that, send Greg Abbott (and Helen Kerwin when she is sworn in ) a message about this. I don’t understand why anyone votes in these creeps.
Why is this happening in a state with the world’s eighth-largest economy and a historic budget surplus? Because last year, Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies in the Legislature tanked the only major public school funding bill on the table by tacking on a private school voucher program that would have bled money from our schools in the long run.
It doesn’t have to be this way, and the governor should hear just that from every Texan who supports public education.
While the Legislature’s school funding bill, House Bill 1, didn’t pass thanks to Gov. Abbott’s voucher scheming, lawmakers did set aside over $4.5 billion for our schools in the budget. The money is in the bank; it just needs to be released to school districts.
Texas AFT calls on Gov. Abbott to use his authority as governor to disburse this funding, held hostage in his quest for a voucher. If he could call four special sessions to try to pass a voucher program, he can take emergency action to fund our public schools.
But what I don’t know is why then GRISD wants to buy the expo, cutting out a valid private buyer who told GRISD they would make available a certain number of days for the school to hold events there. The private potential buyer is the same one that bought the Texas Amphitheatre and both buildings would be on the tax roll, easing citizen’s burdens. If GRISD ends up buying the Expo, it would merely switch one public entity not paying taxes at the Expo for another. At least the folks from Garland who want to buy the Expo would be paying taxes on the property. And, who does not know about the problems with the expo, including the pipes, that would necessitate a lot of money to repair and fix it up.
It is just not clear to me whether for Vatre for GRISD would be also voting for money to go to the Expo, maybe moving one budget item of money to another.
I believe this whole thing with the Expo is an ill considered move. AND I am completely against the State of Texas taking what were historical funds and not using them for education, but instead for school vouchers. Why should GRISD be having deficits and having to fight the State of Texas to get proper funding for education? I just don’t know that the proper funding should include buying the Expo.
From GRISD on the election. Last voting is on Tuesday at City Hall from 7 am to 7pm
