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A third San Antonio area school district will ask voters for permission to increase their tax rate this November in order to access additional revenue.
Trustees for the East Central Independent School District plan to ask voters to OK an additional five cents to the tax rate that pays for teacher salaries and school operations.
In a statement announcing the election, district officials said if voters agree to the five cent increase, East Central will be able to access an additional $7.6 million in revenue annually while still maintaining one of the lowest school district tax rates in Bexar County.
“Without the VATRE, ECISD faces a $4.6 million budget deficit — part of a statewide challenge, as 72% of Texas districts are operating in deficit. ECISD has already cut 10% from its budget for two consecutive years,” district officials said in the statement. "The last meaningful increase to the [state's] student [funding] allotment was in 2019; the 2025 session added just $55 per student, far short of inflation. Today, districts operate on 2019 funding while paying 2025 costs."
Last week, ECISD trustees approved a total tax rate of $0.9819 per $100 of value. That includes both a five cent increase in the tax rate for operating schools and slightly less than a five cent increase in the tax rate used to pay off bonds.
Judson ISD and Schertz-Cibolo Universal City are also asking voters for increases this fall through Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections, or VATREs. If approved, Judson’s total tax rate will be just under $1.08 per $100 of value, and Schertz-Cibolo’s will be just under $1.20.
In Texas, the majority of a district’s tax rate — and the majority of a district’s funding — is set by the state, and it doesn’t increase even when property values rise. But, with voter approval, districts are allowed to add up to 17 additional cents to the tax rate that pays for salaries and other district operations.
Those 17 cents are also known as golden and copper pennies. Golden pennies give districts more bang for their buck than copper pennies, but both give districts access to additional revenue. With voter approval, districts can add up to eight golden pennies and nine copper pennies to their tax rate.
State law requires school districts to go out for a VATRE if they want to increase their tax rate beyond five golden pennies. East Central already has five golden pennies, requiring them to ask for voter approval to access more.
If East Central’s VATRE passes, the district will have access to all eight golden pennies, plus two of the nine copper pennies.
According to district officials, $3.3 million of the $7.6 million generated by the VATRE annually will come from the state. Under state law, golden and copper pennies come with a guaranteed minimum amount of funding per cent. If a district’s property value isn’t sufficient to meet that minimum amount, then the state makes up the difference.
Because of property tax cuts approved during the spring legislative session, East Central estimates the average homeowner will pay about $200 less than they did last year, even with the VATRE.
