Pending final approval by the community of Proposition A, formerly known as the Voter- Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE), this November, Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees approved a budget of $534.2 million for the 2023-2024 year at its June 20 Regular Board meeting.
Prop A allows voters to approve or disapprove the tax rate adopted by the Board of Trustees. If passed, it will allow Round Rock ISD to access the maximum amount of tax revenue from golden pennies, which is not subject to recapture and would remain with the District.
The adopted budget, which includes consideration of an approved Prop A, would inject an additional $19 million into the District’s operating fund. These funds would be used to provide an additional 3% general pay increase for all staff members on top of the guaranteed salary increases approved by the Board in May. The general pay increase is based on the midpoint. For example, our non-teacher positions received the approved 2% of the midpoint, and should Prop A pass, an additional 3% of the midpoint will be given. Funding the overall salary increases would cost the District approximately $21 million. If Prop A is rejected by voters, the salary increases for teachers and librarians would revert to 3 percent, and 2 percent for all other staff members for the 2023-2024 school year.
Considerations made during the budget’s development included the estimated $77.9 million in recapture payments the District will submit to the state of Texas this upcoming year, a $5 million increase from last year’s adopted budget, the discontinuation of federal funding programs, the Texas legislature’s decision not to increase the basic allotment amount per student, state mandates the District will have to allocate funds to meet, and rising operating costs due to inflation.
The adopted budget has a projected deficit of an estimated $20 million. Adopting a budget with a deficit is not unusual. Historically in Round Rock ISD, the deficit is not realized, or there is a decrease in deficit thanks to prudent financial management over the course of the year that realizes savings on projected expenses.
The Board of Trustees will approve the tax rate when Prop A is officially called during their Regular Board Meeting in August. If Prop A is approved, Round Rock ISD’s projected tax rate would be $1.0064 for the 2023-2024 school year, which is lower than the District’s $1.0626 tax rate for 2022-2023.
