Voters in the Socorro Independent School District are closely divided on the tax ratification proposal that would bring in more money for local schools, early voting results released Tuesday show.
Tornillo Independent School District voters appear poised to reject a similar proposal that would have been used to give employees pay raises.
The districts’ voter approval tax ratification election — or VATRE – asked voters to authorize an increase to the operations portion of their tax rates beyond the state’s limit, while reducing the debt payment tax by an equal amount. State law requires that voters approve such a step.
In SISD, about 50.6% of early voters supported the measure, with about 49% opposing it. The measure appeared on the ballot as Proposition A. Over 7,000 voters in the district cast early ballots in the election.
About 58% of early voters in the Tornillo Independent School District rejected its measure, also known as Proposition A. Only 55 voters cast early voting ballots in Tornillo ISD’s tax ratification election.
While the tax rates, if approved, are considered increases under state law because they collect additional tax revenue, most homeowners in the two districts will see their school property tax bills decrease because of the state’s increased homestead exemption proposition on the statewide ballot, which also appears on its way to approval.
Generating revenue
Under the measure if approved, Socorro ISD is expected to generate up to $49.2 million in additional revenue this year; whileTornillo ISD expects over $237,000.
Socorro ISD plans to use the new funds to rebuild its reserves, which were depleted after nearly a decade of spending more money than it generated. This led the district to take out two loans in November 2024 and May 2025 because it did not have enough cash on hand to cover its expenses.
The district adopted a $454.2 million budget in June. It was the first time its budgeted expenses did not exceed its revenue in nearly a decade.
SISD leaders have also said they plan to use additional funds generated by the tax increase to pay for air conditioner repairs, provide retention stipends to employees and replace broken and outdated student laptops purchased in 2020 using COVID-19 relief funds.
Tornillo ISD plans to use the new revenue to give raises to employees who did not qualify for a pay increase under the state’s school funding bill, which only gave raises to teachers with at least three years of experience.
Under HB 2, districts with 5,000 or fewer students, like Tornillo ISD, gave teachers a $4,000 raise if they had three to four years of experience, while those with five or more years of teaching received $8,000.
Teachers working in larger districts with over 5,000 students received $2,500 and $5,000 raises, respectively.
Tax bill impact
Both elections were triggered after their respective school boards adopted tax rates above the voter-approval rate — the highest they could have adopted without going to voters under state law.
The Socorro ISD board in August adopted a tax rate of $1.06 per $100 valuation for the 2025 tax year. This includes a tax rate of 27 cents per $100 valuation to repay its debt and a rate of 79 cents per $100 valuation for operations.
Under the proposition, SISD will shift 12 cents from its interest and sinking rate, used to repay its debt, to its maintenance and operations rate to run the district.
The move, known as a “penny swap,” allows the district to generate additional state revenue under state funding formulas.
The Tornillo ISD school board adopted a tax rate of $1.21 per $100 valuation. This includes a tax rate of 47 cents per $100 valuation to repay its debt and a rate of 74 cents per $100 valuation for operations.
A Texas constitutional amendment on Tuesday’s ballot raises the homestead exemption on school taxes from $100,000 to $140,000. The exemption applies for homes occupied by their owners.
Socorro ISD homeowners can expect to see the school portion of their property tax bills reduced by about $345 a year on the average-valued $232,700 home. Without the VATRE, homeowners could have seen a $455 reduction on their tax bill for the same valued home.
Most Tornillo ISD homeowners won’t pay anything on the school portion of their property tax bill because the state’s new exemption is more than the taxable value of most homes in the district.
PAC supports SISD VATRE
A political action committee, formed by members of Socorro ISD’s Finance and Operations Advisory Committee, raised nearly $8,900 to support Proposition A, according to campaign finance reports filed Oct. 27.
The committee was made up of parents, staff and community members who recommended the tax rate election.
The Support Socorro ISD Schools PAC collected nearly $5,800 in-kind donations, including $1,300 worth of t-shirts for volunteers from Jose Juarez and $700 in website hosting and design from Frank Lopez.
Socorro ISD Trustee Manuel “Manny” Rodriguez also gave the PAC two donations of campaign mailers worth a combined $3,600 and about $170 on text messages to voters.
The PAC also received $2,500 from the Socorro American Federation of Teachers Committee on Political Education and $500 from Super Chef Inc., an east El Paso catering company.
The PAC spent nearly $5,500 on campaigning in favor of Proposition A. This includes nearly $4,700 for campaign mailers and postage and over $1,000 for signs.
The post Early voting: Socorro ISD voters closely split on tax rate proposition; Tornillo ISD proposal rejected appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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