Canyon Independent School District is proposing a Tax Rate Election that CISD residents can vote on, today, Nov. 7, is the last day to vote.
“What we’re doing is asking the voters to allow us to increase the tax rate by three pennies,” Assistant Superintendent Heather Wilson said. “The school district is funded by what is called an Average Daily Attendance [ADA]. The last time our district saw an increase in per-student funding was in 2019. That contributes to the entire budget, in addition to inflation. If you look at the Consumer Price Index [CPI] in the last five years, it has increased 17%.”
Through raising the property tax rate, it will bring more funding therefore the district can afford expenses that come with day-to-day operations.
“These funds can help with raises and they can help with the increases in inflationary cost that we’re faced with,” Wilson said. “They allow us to continue our programs at Canyon ISD, and help us with the security mandates that are coming out.”
State legislators passed a new law on August 25, that requires each school in the state of Texas to have an armed guard present during school hours.
“It is going to be a large expense for the district to place armed guards on every campus,” Wilson said. “That’s gonna cost us over a million dollars to put an armed guard at the other 13 campuses that do not already have officers present. The state gave us $15,000 per campus to do it when it usually costs about $80,000 to $85,000 per campus.”
The current tax rate is decreasing from $1.14 to $0.93. If you vote in favor of the tax rate increase, it will decrease from $1.14 to $0.96.
“When you read the ballot, it says if you vote for the increase, it’s an increase of a negative number,” Wilson said. “If you vote for the increase of the tax rate, you’re in favor of the voter approval tax rate election [VATRE]. If you vote against it, then you’re against it. It’s a very confusing ballot. So one thing I think I would tell people is to make sure you’re aware of the craziness in the language of the ballot.”
Unlike bonds from the past, the money from the increased tax rates will not go to certain schools to build buildings or even add campuses. It will instead go towards the district to help fund all campuses.
“These funds have a severe impact on all students,” Wilson said. “This money goes into the entire budget. It’s not to build a building for an elementary school, it’s not to add to another campus. This allows us to continue with the safety and security precautions that we have. It allows us to continue the programs that we’re currently offering. It also allows us to be competitive with our salaries so that we can keep those wonderful teachers that you’re experiencing right now. Those are some things that the VATRE does for our school district.”
