Dear Vega ISD Community:
This has been an exciting week in Vega ISD. Our National Honor Society was able to recognize and serve our First Responders last week with the annual First Responders Meal. Our high school band played the national anthem along with other musical arrangements during the meal. The JV and Varsity Volleyball teams competed last week with the JV splitting their games and the Varsity gaining wins against West Texas High School and Highland Park. These wins clinched the volleyball district championship for the Lady Horns. The junior high volleyball team traveled to Friona and the junior high football team hosted Gruver last week. Our high school student council participated in the Amarillo Student Leadership Events and came up with some plans to bring back to our school. Last Friday morning we held another Spirit Walk through the hallways of each campus to get everyone excited about the game and finished off the school week with a send off to our Varsity Football team as they traveled to Gruver for their game.
High school students had the opportunity to take the ASVAB and the ACT tests last week. The ASVAB is a test that helps students identify their strengths and interests and finds a career that matches them. The military uses this test to determine if someone is qualified to enlist in the US Armed Forces; however, joining the armed forces is not a requirement to take the test. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to host both of these tests for our students. Taking these tests at your own school provides a “home court advantage” for students so they can do their very best in familiar surroundings.
Last Saturday was the PTO Carnival. It was so much fun seeing our junior high and high school students volunteering at the carnival and all of our students dressed up in their costumes having a good time with the different games. A special thanks to our PTO for putting this together and for our staff that assisted.
This upcoming weekend the band will perform in the Area Marching Contest in Abilene. We are very proud of their work and the honor of qualifying for the Area contest! Also, next Monday will be the Bi-District Playoff game for the Volleyball team against Ropes in Dimmitt. We wish our volleyball team good luck as they get ready for an exciting playoff run. Please see our webpage and Facebook pages for more information.
Thanks to everyone who attended the Coffee & Conversations over the past two weeks at Hickory Inn and Mama Jo’s for a more informal question and answer session to get the facts about the VATRE election.
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. Early voting is currently underway through Friday, November 1st and the general election is on Tuesday, November 5th. Please be sure to cast your vote in the election.
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. An example of this is in 2022-23 the district had 75 staff members. For this school year the district has 63 staff members.
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. As an example, 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.
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.
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