Taylor Independent School District trustees approved the update to an appraised value limitation agreement with Linde Inc. and an extension on the superintendent’s hiring authority at the Nov. 18 board meeting.
Trustees also discussed a potential voter-approved tax ratification election for 2025.
At the Sept. 16 school board meeting, trustees learned that two new structures were being constructed at the Taylor Samsung Austin Semiconductor fab, leading to a request from supplier Linde to push the limitation start date forward from 2028 to 2026.
The now-approved amendment will result in a decrease in Linde’s revenue protection payment and tax savings — from an estimated $1.9 million to $1.4 million and a total savings of $10.18 million to $8.2 million, respectively — due to the school district’s 20% tax compression in 2022.
Trustees also approved extending Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen’s hiring authority through Jan. 27.
The school board typically doesn’t hold its December meeting, opting to move the month’s agenda items to the January session. However, the school district is beginning the process of replacing a floral-design teacher who is moving and would like Garcia-Edwardsen to have the ability to approve a contract before that board meeting at the end of January.
With next year in mind, trustees heard a presentation from Chief Financial Officer Jina Self about potentially holding a voter-approved tax ratification election, or VATRE, in 2025.
The election is required when a school district adopts a maintenance and operations tax rate that exceeds the amount allowed by the state. The presentation listed Taylor ISD’s M&O tax rate for the 2024-25 school year as nearly 70 cents per $100 valuation, which is higher than the state’s maximum Tier One rate of almost 62 cents, according to consulting firm Moak Casey.
VATREs allow school districts to utilize additional pennies on the M&O tax rate to generate additional revenue. According to the Texas Education Agency, pennies can either be golden — the first eight pennies of tax effort a district assesses above its Tier One tax rate and generate the highest level of enrichment funding — or copper — any pennies of tax effort a district assesses above its Tier One tax rate plus 8 cents and generate a lower level of enrichment funding than golden pennies.
Additional revenue is being sought because the state’s basic allotment per student hasn’t changed since 2019, yet school districts are being hit with double-digit inflation and state mandates that require additional funding, such as having security guards, a dyslexia program and special education, as well as needing to increase programs for student opportunities and to gain or maintain competitive compensation rates, officials said.
For Taylor ISD, the VATRE would replace the temporary disaster pennies — extra tax dollars used to raise money in extreme need — the district adopted this year, resulting in no change or even a decrease to the current tax rate of $1.10.
“We are actually in a very unique position, unlike other school districts, because a VATRE to our taxpayers would not mean an increase,” Self told trustees.
The extra revenue would support Taylor ISD staff pay increases and the continuation of academic programs, officials said.
The VATRE’s approval would also result in about $800,000 in funding for the school district’s operations. However, $200,000 is subject to recapture, the process whereby the state takes money from property-rich districts and redistributes it to poorer districts.
District officials anticipate beginning the VATRE process in July 2025 with an efficiency auditor selection. Once the new year’s budget and tax rate are adopted, taxpayers will vote on the VATRE in the November 2025 election.
“I think as long as we explain that (no impact) well, our community has in the past been very receptive to what will benefit us without affecting them,” trustee Anita Volek said at the meeting.
