- Pflugerville Independent School District
- Bond Package 2022
- 2022 Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election
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Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) - Proposition B
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Did You Know: Only a portion of the PfISD tax rate can go toward paying teacher salaries and classroom materials?
A Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) impacts the district’s Maintenance and Operations budget. This is the budget that school districts use for teacher and staff salaries, books, classroom supplies, utilities, educational resources, custodial, insurance, and other items that help educate students each day.
The VATRE asks for an additional 4 pennies to be added to the M&O tax rate. If the VATRE is not approved by voters, with the M&O tax decrease of 6 cents due to HB3 compression, and the Board decreasing the I&S rate by 10 cents, homeowners will see a 16 cent decrease on their overall tax rate in this fiscal year.If passed, homeowners will still see a 12 cent decrease on their overall tax rate in this fiscal year, the lowest tax rate in 30 years; AND this will result in an additional $6.9 Million for PfISD to be spent on daily operations like teacher salaries, utilities, and instructional materials. The Board’s unanimous vote to call a VATRE follows months of reviewing financial predictions, studying the state’s school funding structure, and planning for the operations of the district.
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Why is PfISD calling for a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election?
Based on wealth equalization (i.e., Robin Hood), the growth in PfISD property value doesn't generate additional revenue for PfISD, even though PfISD's property values have grown substantially. As a result, the funding the district receives from the state will go no higher. The VATRE allows the district to increase the tax rate on the M&O side above the "voted-approval tax rate" in order to generate additional revenues that PfISD can keep and help pay for daily operating costs. Notwithstanding the increase in the tax rate associated with the VATRE, the District's overall tax rate will decrease in this fiscal year.
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What is the impact of the Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election to the tax rate?
The M&O tax rate would be increased by approximately $0.04. However, the I&S tax rate is going down by $0.10. The District's M&O rate was lowered by 6 cents due to compression as a result of HB3. Therefore, homeowners will still see an overall decrease of $0.12 in the overall tax rate in this fiscal year.
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What is the impact if the Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election passes (FOR)?
If approved, this ballot item would maximize the district’s Maintenance and Operations (M&O) funding allowed under HB3, adding approximately $6.9 million.
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What is the impact if the Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election fails (AGAINST)?
1) PfISD may be required to increase class sizes.
2) PfISD's funding for operations will be limited, reducing funds available for the programs that Pflugerville ISD students and parents have come to expect (CTE, Fine Arts, Athletics, Gifted and Talented etc.)
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If recapture is the result of generating too much revenue from tax collections, why won’t Pflugerville ISD just lower the tax rate?
If a school district chooses to adopt a tax rate lower than the Voter Approval Tax Rate (VATR), the district will lose revenue when you consider both state and local dollars net of recapture. The legislature has put formula provisions in place to ensure that tax rates below the VATR result in cuts to overall revenue.
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What is the difference in the No-New-Revenue Tax Rate (NNR) and the Voter-Approval-Tax Rate (VATR)?
The No New Revenue Rate (NNR) is designed to calculate the tax rate that would produce the same tax levy in the coming year as was available to the district in the prior year. The no-new-revenue tax rate is intended to give taxpayers an apples-to-apples understanding of the change in tax levy, and only considers local collections and not the impact of recapture or state aid. The Voter-Approval-Tax Rate (VATR) is the tax rate a school district may adopt without an election. If the Board of Trustees adopts a rate that exceeds the VATR, a voter-approval-tax-rate election (VATRE) must be called. The NNR does not impact the VATR.