CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Flour Bluff ISD is looking to increase funding by more than $3.4 million dollars to avoid a budget deficit by 2024.
The district is asking voters to approve a voter-approval tax ratification election, or VATRE, this November. It is a special election called by Flour Bluff's Board of Trustees.
If approved, district officials told 3NEWS that the new tax rate would raise teacher and staff pay, enhance school security measures, and help fund current operations. District officials said it is important to understand how taxpayers will be affected.
Flour Bluff ISD superintendent, Velma Soliz-Garcia, spoke with 3NEWS and said, "With the significant property value increase that we saw in our area, it took our M&O tax rate down to its lowest historically in the district."
The district is asking voters to approve VATRE in the November 8 election. It will raise the maintenance and operations tax rate from 0.8546 To 0.9246. It will also decrease the total tax rate from 1.0063 To 0.9986. If it fails, Soliz-Garcia said the district could face a $2.6 Million budget deficit.
The superintendent explained, "The ramification on the school is, of course, very hardening, you know, it's disheartening. What you see is the fact that now we'll have a deficit in our budget if the TRE doesn't pass."
Soliz-Garcia told 3NEWS it would provide better pay for teachers. Flour Bluff ISD currently provides a lower starting salary than other Coastal Bend districts, despite current efforts to raise it. It will also increase funding for Flour Bluff ISD Police Department and add an armed officer on every campus.
"You can only do so much, right, with what you have and with the HB 3 compressing that tax rate so much, the board had no other option than to go out and call for this TRE," Soliz-Garcia said.
For reference, HB 3 is house bill 3, which the district said compressed the tax rate to its lowest point as property values continue to increase.
They said the passing of the election would lead to a varying increase for taxpayers depending on their property value and that you can compute it with resources on their district website.
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