Tax rate to increase as Austin ISD Proposition A passes

Proposition A is a tax rate increase that will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner, according to AISD.

Nov 6, 2024 - 04:21
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Tax rate to increase as Austin ISD Proposition A passes

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin voters have approved a tax rate increase that will provide millions for the Austin Independent School District to use toward pay raises and savings.

Proposition A will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner, according to AISD. Technically, the rate will increase by $0.091 to $0.9505, which translates to about 9.1 cents for $100 of a property's value.

"Y'all, this is a huge, huge, huge deal," AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said at a watch party Tuesday night.

"I love this organization. I love our community and it's 1,000% true our community believes in Austin ISD, believes in our teachers, believes that what we're doing as our organization, with our board, has a meaningful impact," Segura continued.

The rate increase would generate $171 million annually. Approximately $41 million of that will stay with AISD. Because Texas has a funding system, called recapture, that caps the revenue school districts can keep per student, the rest goes to the state to help fund other districts. Austin ISD faces a $119 million budget deficit for the 2024-2025 school year.

Prop A passing means most of the district's teaching staff will see raises before the end of the year. The increases range from less than 1% for new teachers to over 8% for educators with more than 20 years of experience.

"What is going to happen — before they go to winter break, they will be paid for all the time back from the start of the fiscal year … I'm just so excited that our community showed up for our teachers," Segura said.

According to plans posted on the district's website, the district will spend $17.8 million on salary adjustments and $20 million to replenish the district’s savings, and reduce the deficit.

The district is still facing difficult financial decisions to overcome a multimillion-dollar deficit.

The superintendent said the district plans to cut $26 million from its budget this fiscal year and another $28 million in the following fiscal year. Segura said the administration will recommend budget cuts before the Thanksgiving break.

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