LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) — The Liberty Hill Independent School District is seeking voter approval to increase its district’s property tax rate in the upcoming November election to avoid making various budget cuts.
The school district’s property tax rate for the 2024–25 fiscal year is $1.17 per $100 of assessed valuation. Proposition A, which appears on the ballot for voters living within the district’s boundaries, proposes increasing the rate to $1.24 — a $0.07 increase.
The increased property tax rate will bring in $10.7 million for the district. Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Travis Motal said it will help offset the budget cuts they had to make last year.
“We went through $8 million in cuts last spring along with the $2 million deficit,” Motal said. “This $10.7 million begins to fill in those cuts in that deficit that we had last year.”
If approved, Liberty Hill ISD aims to reinvest $10.7 million into:
- Restoration of student programs that were cut last year for students and staff
- Safety & security initiatives
- Recruiting and retaining teachers and staff
Liberty Hill also held a voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE) last year, and it did not pass. Motal says that played into the cuts they had to make last year.
“If Prop A does not pass [this year], we anticipate another $3 million in cuts next spring, on top of the cuts we had last spring,” Motal said.
Some of the possible cuts, according to Liberty Hill ISD include:
- Not opening schools that are currently being built
- Reducing transportation routes
- Increasing class sizes to absorb added teacher costs
- Sharing campus staff, like SROs, nurses, counselors, assistant principals, instructional coaches
- Significantly increasing facility rentals
- Insitute pay to participate in extracurricular activities
LHISD officials are hosting several presentations and Q&A-style events to talk more about the upcoming VATRE. For more details on when and where each event happens, you can click here.
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