2024 Election: Central Texas school district elections

AUSTIN, Texas - Sixteen Central Texas school districts, including Austin Community College, have called for elections this fall.

Half of those districts have called for a VATRE, or Voter Approval Tax Rate Election, including Austin ISD, Blanco ISD, Coupland ISD, Liberty Hill ISD, Manor ISD, Marble Falls ISD, Round-Top Carmine ISD, and San Marcos CISD. 

Many of those districts say they called for a VATRE due to deficits in their budgets caused by increased costs and lack of additional state funding.

MORE ELECTION COVERAGE: 2024 Election: Key dates for Texas voters

Ten districts have school board positions on the ballot as well: Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD, Dime Box ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Leander ISD, Lockhart ISD, Manor ISD, Round Rock ISD, Wimberley ISD and the Austin Community College District.

Only one school district is trying to pass a bond, Round Rock ISD, which is asking for nearly a billion dollars to provide upgrades and address needs throughout the district.

Also on the ballot is the possibility for ACC to annex Lockhart ISD as a taxable territory.

Austin ISD 

Austin ISD has one proposition and four board positions on the ballot this November.

Prop A

The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted in August to put a potential property tax rate increase on the November ballot. The increase would help with the district's budget deficit. 

The Voter Approval Tax Rate Election, or VATRE, proposes an 8.3% increase in the tax rate. 

For the average homeowner, the increase is roughly a dollar a day, or around $400 annually. If passed, roughly $171 million would be generated, but because of state recapture, the district would get about $41 million.

If it doesn't pass, the Board says there would be $20 million more in cuts. 

The current deficit would be reduced to $78 million with VATRE.

VATRE brings in about $550 per student.

Board of Trustees Election

Three Board Trustee positions and one Trustee at Large position are on the November ballot, with candidates in two races running unopposed.

Trustee, District 2

• LaRessa Quintana
• Sarah Ivory

Trustee, District 3

• Kevin Foster (incumbent)

Foster is running unopposed.

Trustee, District 5

• Lynn Boswell (incumbent)

Boswell is running unopposed.

Trustee At-Large, Position 8

• Amy Moore
• Dylan "Sky" MacAdams
• Fernando Lucas de Urioste
• Lindsey Stringer
• Nathaniel Hellman
• Nick Franke

Blanco ISD

Blanco ISD has called for a VATRE election for November.

The district says it is facing a $1.2 million budget deficit for the 2024-25 school year. 

If the VATRE is approved in November, BISD would generate approximately $400,000 annually. In addition to these local funds, an approved VATRE would generate approximately $28,000 of funding from the state. 

The district says that while those funds would not eliminate the deficit, they would be used for teacher and staff incentives, maintaining current class sizes, and retaining student programs.  

If a VATRE is approved by the voters in November, the district’s maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate would increase by 2 cents. 

The funds generated if the VATRE passes are exempt from recapture, ensuring that none of these funds will be returned to the state.

Learn more about Blanco ISD's VATRE here.

Coupland ISD

Coupland ISD has called for a VATRE this fall.

The district says that it is projecting a deficit for the 2024-25 school year. Despite the deficit being 1.8% of the total budget, the district is concerned about the future.

CISD says operational costs, healthcare costs, and salary increases will further stretch the district’s limited resources in 2025-2026 and beyond without an increase in revenue. Also, the district is planning to build a new middle school, scheduled to open in August 2026 with funds from the 2023 bond. 

If approved, the VATRE will:

• Provide approximately an additional $208,733 in M & O revenue
• Provide funds for a one-time payment for staff (contingent on the VATRE passing)
• Provide funds for additional staff as needed
• Provide funds to be used for supplies (initial, one-time costs of new middle school)

Learn more about Coupland ISD's VATRE here.

Del Valle ISD

Del Valle ISD has four single member board positions on the ballot, with candidates in two races running unopposed.

Single Member, District 1

• Samuel Franco

Franco is running unopposed.

Single Member, District 2

• Damián Pantoja (incumbent)

Pantoja is running unopposed.

Single Member District 4

• Martha Lujan
• Melinda Cisneros
• Richard Rendon (incumbent)

Single Member District 6

• Richard Franklin III
• Chante Wright-Haywood (incumbent)

Dime Box ISD

Dime Box ISD has called for a trustee election where community members can select none, one, two or three of the choices.

Trustees

• Douglas Spacek (incumbent)
• Ty West
• Kendrick Gilbert (incumbent)
• Roberta Brinkman

Lago Vista ISD

Lago Vista ISD has two Trustee positions up for election, with one candidate running unopposed.

Trustee, Place 6

• David Scott
• Brian Caller

Trustee, Place 7

• Kevin Walker

Walker is running unopposed.

Leander ISD

Leander ISD has three Trustee positions on the ballot for November.

Trustee, Place 3

• Nekosi Nelson
• Jim Sneeringer

Trustee, Place 4

• Brandi Burkman
• Anna Smith (incumbent)
• Zach Zayner

Trustee, Place 5

• Sade Fashokun (incumbent)
• Gerald Prater

Learn more about the candidates here.

Liberty Hill ISD

Liberty Hill ISD has two propositions on the ballot this November.

Prop A

The district calls Prop A a "school funding election," but this is also known as a VATRE.

LHISD says that Prop A, if passed, would provide additional funding for teacher raises and maintaining instructional and extracurricular programs.

Over the last six years, the district tax rate has decreased by 37 cents. If passed, Prop A would add back six pennies.

If voters approve Prop A, the total tax rate will be $1.22 per $100 property valuation. In 2018, the total tax rate was $1.53. Approval of Prop A would increase the monthly tax payment on the median home in LHISD (valued at $462,264) by $18.11 per month.

If rejected, LHISD says it will implement additional cost-saving measures, which could result in an up-to 10% reduction in staff, larger class sizes, and the elimination of instructional and extracurricular programs.

Prop B

Prop B authorizes LHISD to make required state payments as part of the recapture system. The district makes those payments by purchasing "attendance credits."

If the district does not vote to purchase attendance credits, the state can permanently remove some property from LHISD for tax purposes. 

Learn more about the Liberty Hill ISD propositions here.

Lockhart ISD

Leander ISD has one Trustee position on the ballot for November.

Trustee, District 4

• Chris Charles
• Warren Burnett (incumbent)

District 1, District 2 and District 3 were taken off the ballot in September as the races were unopposed.

Manor ISD

Board of Trustees Election

Manor ISD has three Trustee positions on the ballot for November.

Trustee, Place 5

• Patrick Patterson
• Jayme Mathias

Trustee, Place 6

• Sam Samaripa
• Caitlin Lowery

Trustee, Place 7

• Janie Serna Guerrero (incumbent)
• Stacy Howard

Prop A

Manor ISD has also called for a VATRE.

If approved, Prop A would:

• decrease the tax rate to a projected $1.0814 per $100 of taxable value, the lowest MISD has had since 2015
• increase staff salaries by three percent of the midpoint
• increase campus safety and security by providing funding for new school police officers and equipment
• increase student mental health support by providing funding for new social workers and mental health support programs

If passed, a homeowner of an average value home in Manor ($233,192) would see about a $10 decrease in Manor ISD property taxes per year.

Learn more about Manor ISD's VATRE here.

Marble Falls ISD

Marble Falls ISD has called for a VATRE this fall.

MFISD says that it is holding a VATRE because of:

• 19.5% rising inflation since 2019-20
• $2.3M to overcome the state funding gap
• $1.1M to maintain competitive compensation
• $500K increase to child nutrition program

The district says that because of the state funding gap, it had to reduce staff salaries by $700,000, reallocate positions in special programs and reduce the supply budget by $200,000.

If Prop A passes, the district will be able to:

• maintain current class sizes
• continue to fund existing student programs at current levels
• assess the ability to offer competitive salaries for qualified staff

The district says if passed, Prop A would generate $2.2 million with no money going back to the state.

Learn more about Marble Falls ISD's VATRE and to calculate the impact on your property taxes here.

Round Rock ISD

Bond Election

Round Rock ISD has called for a $998 million bond election to provide upgrades and address needs throughout the district.

This is RRISD's first bond in six years.

Prop A - $798.3 million

Prop A would fund campus and districtwide projects such as replacing HVAC systems, roofing, electrical, and plumbing systems that have reached the end of their useful life, and other updates such as fresh paint, new ceiling tiles and flooring to improve the condition of aging facilities.

Prop A also would allow the district to build classroom additions, upgrade safety and security systems and equipment, install fencing, upgrade or install digital marquees, replace fine arts uniforms and instruments; purchase student furniture, new buses, robotics equipment and tools, and purchase and equip a new facility dedicated to expanding Career and Technical Education programs for all students.

Prop B - $125.3 million

Prop B would fund upgrading instructional technology and infrastructure to support modern learning, and to increase the speed, connectivity, reliability and security of the district network.

Prop C - $8.6 million

Prop C would allow for improvements and upgrades to RRISD's fine arts programs, including upgrading outdated stage lighting and sound systems.

Prop D - $65.9 million

Prop D would fund improvements to existing athletic facilities such as upgrades to lighting and scoreboards, and adding artificial turf to competition fields. This proposition also includes the construction of a standalone multipurpose athletic facility to be used by students and staff throughout the district.

RRISD says passing the bond will not increase the tax rate. The current $0.8931 tax rate is the lowest rate of surrounding school districts and the lowest rate for the district in more than 35 years.

Learn more about Round Rock ISD's bond election here.

Board of Trustees Election

Round Rock ISD also has three board positions on the ballot.

Trustee, Place 1

• Joshua Escalante
• Estevan Jesus "Chuy" Zarate

Trustee, Place 2

• Melissa Ross
• April Guerra

Trustee, Place 7

• Mingyuan "Michael" Wei
• Jim Steele

Round Top-Carmine ISD

Round Top-Carmine ISD has called for a VATRE.

Prop A on the ballot reads:

"Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate for maintenance and operations of $0.6969 per $100 tax assessed valuation in Round Top-Carmine Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 2.8 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $178,366."

San Marcos CISD

San Marcos CISD has called for a VATRE.

The district says that the board adopted a $17.2 million budget deficit for the 2024–25 school year. Over the last six years, funding for educational expenses has not kept up with inflation. 

The district also noted the state legislature did not approve any additional per-student funding this past session and there are new state mandates that also did not come with additional funding. 

SMCISD says that if passed, the VATRE would generate an additional $2.8 million not subject to recapture which would be used for additional teacher and staff compensation.

If passed, the total tax rate would increase to $1.0152 per $100 valuation, an increase of .024 from last year. If rejected, the tax rate would still increase to $0.9952 per $100 valuation, an increase of .004 from last year.

Learn more about San Marcos CISD's VATRE here.

Wimberley ISD

Wimberley ISD has three trustee positions on the November ballot.

Trustee, Place 1

• Andrea Justus (incumbent)
• Ben Kiowski

Trustee, Place 2

• Nathan Cross (incumbent)
• Lindsey Deringer

Trustee, Place 3

• Rob Campbell

Austin Community College District

Board of Trustees Election

Austin Community College has three trustee positions on the ballot this November.

Trustee, Place 7

• Sherri Lynn Taylor
• Cole Wilson

Trustee, Place 8

• Stephanie Gharakhanian (incumbent)

Trustee, Place 9

• Joe Sefton
• Julie Ann Nitsch (incumbent)

Lockhart ISD Annexation

There is also an initiative on the ballot in Caldwell County to annex Lockhart ISD into ACC's territory.

The proposition reads:

"Approving the annexation by the Austin Community College District of the following territory: the territory in the Lockhart Independent School District, and authorizing the imposition of an ad valorem tax for junior college purposes, which is currently set at a rate of $0.1013 per $100 valuation of taxable property."