Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE)

In total, the VATRE, if approved, would give the Arlington ISD access to approximately $56 million in additional revenue. Of that total, about $18 million (or one-third) will come from an increase in state funds. Without passing a VATRE, the district would not receive the additional state funding.

The additional resources will be used to provide competitive teacher and staff compensation and instructional opportunities for students.

Almost 90% of our budget is comprised of salaries. Revenues from a VATRE would be spent almost entirely on salaries.

School districts are funded primarily from two sources: property taxes and state aid. However, rising property values do not equate to more money for schools. Instead, when property values increase, the State of Texas reduces the amount of money it sends the district on the Tier I portion of the tax rate. There is no adjustment in the state funding formulas for inflation.

If the VATRE is approved by voters in November, the total tax rate will increase by 8.84 cents.  The new tax rate would cost the owner of an average home in Arlington, which is valued at $208,985 according to the Tarrant Appraisal District, an additional $162.70 annually, or $13.56 per month. Taxpayers over age 65 would incur no tax increase unless they make substantial improvements to their home.

Eleven of the 21 school districts in Tarrant County have already received voter approval through a VATRE to increase their tax rate, including Fort Worth, Burleson, Keller, Aledo and Azle. Other area school districts that have passed a VATRE include Dallas, Irving, Grand Prairie and Denton.

No. Bond money can only be used for facilities and assets, including facility construction and renovation, technology, school buses, equipment and property. Bond funds may not be used for employee compensation or day-to-day operations.

School district property taxes have two components: the Maintenance and Operations tax rate (M&O) and the Interest and Sinking tax rate (I&S). The VATRE would affect the M&O tax rate, which funds teacher and staff compensation and all school district operations. The I&S rate is strictly used to pay off bond debt and cannot be used for anything else.

The Arlington ISD’s Financial Futures Committee, comprised of citizens and Arlington ISD employees, recommended that the Board of Trustees consider a VATRE for each of the past three years. In addition, independent surveys conducted in 2019 and 2020 indicated the Arlington ISD community favored considering a VATRE.

House Bill 3 (passed by the 86^th Texas Legislature) increased state funds to reduce school district tax rates and pay for several mandates including salary increases, full-day prekindergarten, dyslexia services and compensatory services for at-risk students. Most of the new money provided through HB 3 was for designated purposes. Little discretionary new money was provided. HB 3 resulted in different funding levels and created more variations in teacher compensation among districts than existed prior to passage of the bill. School districts that have already passed a VATRE gained more new revenue through HB 3 and are able to offer more competitive salaries for teachers than those districts that have not yet leveraged the additional state and local revenue resulting from a VATRE.

If the VATRE does not pass, AISD will not have access to as much funds to offer the competitive teacher salaries, staffing levels may have to be reduced and some instructional opportunities may have to be curtailed or not offered.

Information regarding AISD’s financial management can be found on the Financial Transparency page of the District’s website.  Data posted at that site includes annual budget and audit reports, efficiency audit report and Schools FIRST financial accountability rating report.

Yes, and we do. We carefully prioritize our needs each year and look for opportunities to cut costs. We were able to reduce costs by $1.6 million this year (staff reductions and new contract for electricity supply). Our operating costs per student ($9,566) are less than our peer districts ($9,843) and less than the state average ($9,912).

Administrators typically get the same raises as teachers. AISD’s cost per student for administration ($174) is about one-half the state average ($322).