(C) El Paso Matters.org
This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Socorro ISD board calls for ‘VATRE’ tax rate election. Here’s what it means to you [1]
['Claudia Lorena Silva', 'More Claudia Lorena Silva', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width']
Date: 2025-08-15
Socorro Independent School District voters will head to the polls in November to decide whether to allow the district to raise its tax rate beyond what is allowed by the state to help its financial status, potentially cutting into property tax savings approved by the Texas Legislature.
The SISD board voted 6-0 Thursday to call for a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE, that could bring in up to $49.2 million a year. Board President Michael Najera was absent from the meeting.
“The funding could help maintain and strengthen our educational programs,” SISD Chief Financial Officer David Solis said. “If voters do not approve it, we must adopt a lower voter approval rate, that would mean less local revenue, which could limit our ability to maintain current programs and services at the same level.”
Trustees voted unanimously to approve a tax rate of 27 cents per $100 valuation to repay its debt and a rate of 79 cents per $100 valuation for operations, totaling $1.06 per $100 valuation for the 2025 tax year. The voter-approval rate – the highest it could have adopted without going to voters – is 94 cents per $100 valuation.
The board also voted unanimously to shift 12 cents from its debt rate to its operations rate, also known as a “penny swap.”
The no-new-revenue rate, which would generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year on the same properties, is 98 cents per $100 valuation.
Here is what you need to know about the upcoming election:
How would the VATRE impact the average SISD tax bill if approved?
Though the proposed tax rate is the same as last year’s, SISD homeowners will likely see a decrease in the school portion of their tax bill if Texas voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to raise the homestead exemption.
If the amendment passes and SISD voters approve the tax rate proposition, homeowners in the district can expect to see the school portion of their property tax bills reduced by about $345 a year on the average home valued at $232,700.
If voters reject the tax proposition, SISD school tax bills would save an additional $110.
How would SISD use the new funds?
If VATRE is approved, the district plans to use the $49.2 million generated by the increased property revenue primarily to rebuild its savings.
District leaders also said they plan to use the funds to pay for employee compensation, to support increased class sizes, to maintain facilities, improve security and to fund Career & Technical Education, fine arts and athletics programs.
How will the state’s increased homestead exemption affect property taxes?
Most SISD homeowners will see a decrease, or may have the school portion of their tax bill eliminated entirely, after Texas lawmakers called for a constitutional amendment to increase the state’s homestead exemption on school property taxes.
The proposed amendment would increase the homestead exemption for school taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 and increase the exemption for seniors over 65 and individuals with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000.
That means any home worth less than $140,000, or $200,000 for seniors and disabled individuals, will pay nothing on the school portion of the tax bill. The increased exemptions don’t apply to other taxing entities such as the city, county, University Medical Center of El Paso or El Paso Community College. The El Paso Central Appraisal District estimates that nearly 27% of SISD homeowners won’t owe any taxes on the school portion of their tax bills with the new homestead exemption
If approved by voters, the exemption will apply retroactively to 2025 tax bills that typically go out in December and are due no later than Jan. 31.
How will the penny swap work?
A school district’s tax rate is made up of two parts: The rate that pays for maintenance and operations and the rate that pays for debt.
Under certain circumstances, Texas school districts can call for an election to move a portion of their tax rate earmarked for debt repayment to their operations.
This shift in revenue could slow down a district’s ability to pay off its debt, but allows it to generate more funds to use on daily operations, such as paying salaries, utilities and other expenses.
If approved by voters, SISD plans to reduce its debt tax rate from 39 cents to 27 cents per $100 valuation and increase its operation tax rate from 67 cents to 79 cents per $100 valuation.
Why is SISD holding a VATRE?
SISD is holding a tax rate election after years of overspending, approved under previous leadership, and exhausting its savings.
In June, the district adopted its first balanced budget in nearly a decade after approving deficits every year between 2016 and 2024.
In December, SISD revealed it had used more than half of its reserves between 2022 and 2024. At the time, the district had $50.4 million in reserves, or enough to keep the district running for 33 days.
SISD policy requires the district to have enough to keep the district afloat for 75 days. Texas school districts also need to have enough to keep running for at least 75 days to get an A in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.
When is the SISD voter approved tax rate election?
Election day will be Nov. 4, with early voting scheduled Oct. 20-31. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 6.
Only registered voters within the Socorro ISD school boundaries are eligible to cast ballots in the VATRE.
What will be on the SISD ballot?
State election laws call for specific language to appear on the ballot, including that the proposition would be a tax increase. That’s because although individuals may see lower tax bills, local governments that will generate increased tax revenues must call it a tax increase under truth in taxation laws.
Voters will be asked to mark their ballots “for” or “against” the measure that will read as follows:
SOCORRO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSITION A: THIS IS A TAX INCREASE Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $1.0589 per $100 valuation in the Socorro Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 14.91 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the District for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $15,080,585.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://elpasomatters.org/2025/08/15/sisd-tax-rate-election-2025-penny-swap-vatre-heads-to-voters/
Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/
