EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — On the election ballot for El Paso voters within the Socorro Independent School District’s (SISD) boundaries, a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, proposes to adjust the district’s tax rate.
District officials said the adjustment won’t cost homeowners more, while helping improve the district’s financial outlook.
“Our current tax rate is a dollar five, and it’ll remain at a dollar five, even if this passes, and it will bring $49 million of additional revenue to our district,” SISD Superintendent James Vasquez said.
Proposition A on the SISD ballot reads as a tax increase: “Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $1.0589 per $100 valuation in the Socorro Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 14.91 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the District for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $15,080,585.”
Vasquez said that while state law required Proposition A to read on the ballot that it is a “tax increase,” they’re not increasing the district’s tax rate beyond the current $1.0589 per $100 valuation. He added that the adjustment is rather a “penny swap” within that same rate.
“There are two parts to the tax rate: the maintenance and operations, and the interest and sinking rate. So, what we’d be doing essentially would be increasing the maintenance and operations tax rate by $0.12. However, we’d be reducing the interest in the sinking tax rate also by $0.12 to our current tax rate, that is, a dollar five. Thus, there would be no impact to property owners within our district,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez said some property owners may even see a reduced property tax bill if voters were to approve some state propositions on the ballot that aim to pass property tax relief for Texans.
“So, there are about 17 statewide propositions on the ballot this November. Two in particular, propositions 11 and 13, those affect the homestead exemptions. Now, if the voters were to approve propositions 11, 13, and our Proposition A, they would actually see a decrease in their property taxes by about $345 on the average-priced home,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez said that if Prop A were approved, the newly generated revenue would be primarily used to restore the district’s reserves or “fund balance,” but it would also allow them to fund other maintenance and operation needs.
“We’re at a point now where we’re down to 17 days of fund balance. By our own policy, we need to be at 75 days. So, this would help with the recovery of our fund balance and put us in a better financial situation for years to come,” Vasquez said. “The money from this proposition would be used…to continue to support the student programs that we’ve been able to enjoy for the past many, many years. It will help with the employee compensation, and it’ll help with maintenance and operations needs across the district.”
Vasquez was asked what it would mean for the district if the proposition were denied by voters in the election.
“If this does not pass, there will be a continued financial strain on the district. It’ll take longer to recover that fund balance. There will be potential cuts to programs, potential cuts to staff,” Vasquez said.
“We did pass a balanced budget for this school year. And, while we’re proud of the fact that we did that, it was painful. We had to make a lot of painful decisions in order to get there. And even though we’re there, that’s just part of the picture. We still have a fund balance issue,” Vasquez said.
Proposition A was recommended to the district by the finance and operations advisory committee, or FOAC, composed of parents, active and retired teachers, business leaders, and other stakeholders who believe this proposition will be crucial in helping the district turn the corner.
“We jumped on board to support it just because it really would not be a tax increase for taxpayers, and it would bring the necessary money that the district needs to make it solvent,” said Rosie Perez, president of the West Texas Alliance. “This is another crucial piece that will really help the district start progressing.”
“What the district has shown me in the course of maybe 4 or 5, maybe 6 months, is a commitment to make a change, to positively impact the community it serves. And it’s made a commitment to really revisit its finances, to get its financial affairs in order. It went from a $40 million deficit to a balanced budget. And that’s about as close as you can come to a financial miracle today,” said Phillip Laign, the treasurer for the Support Socorro ISD Schools political action committee (PAC). “So, with the district, with the board, and the newly elected superintendent, it’s a district that I’ve come to realize I can trust as a taxpayer.”
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