Voters in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District will decide whether to raise taxes to fund teacher salary increases this November.
If approved, the property tax rate would increase by 12 cents per $100 of taxable value.
Superintendent Eric Wright said the tax increase would fund raises for all teachers and hourly staff and refill the district’s “critically low” savings account. The Texas Education Agency recommends Hays CISD have at least $67 million in reserves to have a healthy savings account; by the end of this year, they are projected to have only $20 million, Wright said.
If the measure fails, Wright said the district will be forced to make “significant” cuts to staff and programming. The district could also raise fees or create new ones to generate revenue.
The Hays CISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted Monday to add the tax rate election to the November ballot.
“This is the situation we are in," Trustee Courtney Runkle said. "In order to continue to pay our teachers and our staff and give them the money that they deserve … this is going to go to the taxpayers and this is going to be up to them.”
Wright said the district has drawn from its savings account since 2021 in hopes that more state funding would eventually come through, but it didn't.
Despite severe inflation, the state’s basic student allotment — how much funding the state says each student needs — has remained at $6,160 since the 2019-2020 school year. Texas lawmakers passed a small increase this legislative session, but Wright said it’s not enough to adequately fund the district.
“We are being forced into a position where, since the state won’t take care of us, we are going to ask … our local taxpayers to help us out,” Wright said.
If approved, the tax rate hike will generate about $26 million.
Hays CISD officials estimate the average resident will see a reduction to their property tax bill even if the measure passes. That’s assuming a separate statewide measure, which would increase the homestead exemption for property taxes, passes.
Early voting begins Oct. 20 and runs through Oct. 31. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
