Dear Vega ISD Community:
The annual Scholastic Book Fair is this week. It’s always fun to see our students excited about picking out new books. This week is also Fentanyl Awareness Week. You may have seen some of the fentanyl commercials on TV about “One Pill Kills.” Please look for communication from our campuses about this so you can discuss the dangers of fentanyl as a family.
Congratulations to our Junior High and High School Cross Country teams who competed at the district meet last week in Stratford. We had one student advance to Regionals in Lubbock and our Junior High Girls were the District Runner Up team. We had three of our junior high students place at the district meet. Be sure to check out our webpage and Facebook page for more information and pictures.
The Vega ISD school board is proposing an overall tax rate of $1.3555 ($0.8555 for Maintenance & Operations & $0.50 for Interest & Sinking). This overall tax rate is an increase by 12 cents per $100 property valuation. By fact, this would be the third lowest tax rate in the past 10 years and the second lowest M&O tax rate in the past 20 years.
We continue to have our VATRE Question of the Day posted on our webpage and Facebook page. We will have two upcoming Coffee & Conversations for a more informal question and answer session to get the facts about the upcoming VATRE election. The first Coffee & Conversations will be Thursday, October 17th at Mama Jo’s from 8 AM - 9 AM. The second Coffee & Conversations will be Thursday, October 24th at Hickory Inn from 8 AM - 9 AM.
Our district’s total budget is approximately $5,599,000. Like many districts across the state, we are experiencing a deficit budget. We have talked about this in previous Longhorn Weekly columns. If the VATRE passes, the budget deficit will be approximately -$330,000. If the VATRE fails, the budget deficit will be approximately -$850,000. One way other districts approach reducing budget deficits is through absorbing personnel positions when they open up. While this takes time, this is a plausible strategy if the budget deficit is approximately -$330,000. However, if the budget deficit is approximately -$850,000 the only real way other districts approach reducing this shortfall is through eliminating programs and personnel positions within the district. This is essentially the difference between having a single class with 27 students or having two smaller sized classes with 13 and 14 students, respectively.
Last school year, the state compressed the district’s M&O tax rate. If the School Board would have called for a VATRE last school year, there would have essentially not been an overall tax rate increase. However, the Board wanted to make sure the district had reduced expenditures as much as possible before asking the voters to approve the tax ratification election.
For a home that is valued at $200,000 (after the $100,000 homestead exemption the taxable value of the home would be $100,000) an approved VATRE would increase the taxes by $120 a year or $10 a month. Similarly, for a home that is valued at $300,000 (after the $100,000 homestead exemption the taxable value of the home would be $200,000) an approved VATRE would increase the taxes by $240 a year or $20 a month.
Because this tax rate exceeds the district’s no-new-revenue rate set by the state, the district must conduct a Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) in November. If approved, the proposed tax rate would result in over $500,000 in additional revenue for the District which would be used to fund the maintenance and operation of the district, which pays for educational programs along with faculty and staff salaries. If VATRE is approved, property owners 65 and older with a homestead tax exemption would experience no change to their taxes as a result of the election. If the VATRE fails, the District will not be able to adopt a tax rate above the no-new-revenue tax rate.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be glad to answer any questions you may have. If you have an organization or group who would like to set up a Q&A about the VATRE, please reach out to me and we would gladly make arrangements for you.
Thank you,
Jerry Adams
Superintendent, Vega ISD