It’s an off year for candidates. But there were some important things on the ballot. Texas voters yesterday decided whether the state should add 17 new amendments to the state constitution and they determined some funding questions for their local school districts.
15-percent of Taylor County’s registered voters showed up this election…helping the rest of Texas to add 17 amendments to the state’s constitution. All 17 had strong support in the county. The most popular measures, which got more than 90% of the vote, were related to homestead exemptions. Prop 7 sets up a homestead exemption for surviving spouses of veterans who die from a service-connected disease. Prop 10 provides a temporary homestead exemption for residences destroyed by fire.
The closest votes across Taylor County were the questions about school funding. Abilene ISD Superintendent John Kuhn has spent the last few months explaining what was at stake for the district in Abilene’s Proposition A. Today he’s celebrating after 54.5% of voters voted yes to VATRE.
“Is the measure of the morality of a society, what we’re willing to do for our kids,” Kuhn told KACU. “And I think educating children is really not optional. If we want our children to grow up and be healthy and strong and successful and happy and self-actualized and fulfilled, then we educate ‘em. That has always taken resources, and it always will take resources. And so I’m super thrilled to know that the City of Abilene, Taylor County, Jones County the voters went to the polls and said, ‘Yeah, we want to invest in our kids, and in our future.’”
Now that voters have approved the new tax rate, Abilene ISD will get a share of state funds that were not available without this vote. And even though the vote was to approve a tax-increase, tax payers will still see a decrease in the school district portion of their property taxes because the board of trustees approved a cut to another piece of the property tax earlier this year.
"Taxes, compared to last year, are going down. And yet it's going to generate an extra $10M this year, and every year to come. And almost 2/3 of that is not from the pockets of Abilene property tax payers. It’s a heck of a deal,” Kuhn said after seeing the outcome of Tuesday’s vote.
Those funds are set to arrive in the spring semester. Kuhn will survey district staff to get their input on priorities; and he’ll have a plan ready for the board to consider early next semester so the district can put the dollars to work quickly.
Texas first set up the two-tiered school funding system in 1989. Superintendent Kuhn says he thinks it’s telling that Abilene is one of several districts to finally put this option in front of voters this year.
“This current election around the state lots of schools have gone to the voters and asked for this, and i think that’s a sign of just how tough things are right now financially for school districts with the state really not coming to our aid in the aftermath of inflationary pressures that we’ve seen since COVID,” Kuhn said. “It’s just, it’s pretty tough right now financially for school districts.”
Yesterday Big Country voters also approved the VATRE proposition for Jim Ned, as well as a $39 million bond for a new elementary school in Breckenridge, and a $22 million bond in Merkle .
It was a split decision for Baird ISD, which had two bond packages on the ballot. Voters approved a $25 million package to invest in renovations, additions, safety and technology. But by just 2-vote margin (219 - 221), they rejected a $2.5 million bond package for teacher housing.
A $171million bond package for Snyder ISD, and a $22 million bond for Hico ISD failed.
All of these results are unofficial until election administrators finalize them in the coming weeks.