AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin voters have approved a tax rate increase that will provide millions for the Austin Independent School District to use toward pay raises and savings.
Proposition A will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner, according to AISD. The rate will increase by $0.091 to $0.9505, translating to about 9.1 cents for $100 of a property’s value.
“Y’all, this is a huge, huge, huge deal,” AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said at a watch party Tuesday night.
“I love this organization. I love our community and it’s 1,000% true our community believes in Austin ISD, believes in our teachers, believes that what we’re doing as our organization, with our board, has a meaningful impact,” Segura continued.
The rate increase would generate $171 million annually. Approximately $41 million of that will stay with AISD. Because Texas has a funding system, called recapture, that caps the revenue school districts can keep per student, the rest goes to the state to help fund other districts.
“I like teachers. Obviously, everybody does. It’s [171] million dollars that it will raise, but the state will take ¾ of that,” Austin voter John Laycock said. “I feel deeply conflicted, but ultimately, I want teachers to have the money they need.”
According to plans posted on the district’s website, the district will spend $17.8 million on salary adjustments and $20 million to replenish the district’s savings and reduce the deficit, which previously was $119 million for the 2024-2025 school year.
Superintendent Segura said that because voters approved Prop A, most of the district’s teaching staff will see raises before the end of the year. The increases range from less than 1% for new teachers to over 8% for educators with more than 20 years of experience.
“What is going to happen — before they go to winter break, they will be paid for all the time back from the start of the fiscal year … I’m just so excited that our community showed up for our teachers,” Segura said.
The district is still facing difficult financial decisions to overcome its multimillion-dollar deficit. The superintendent said the district plans to cut $26 million from its budget this fiscal year and another $28 million in the following fiscal year. Segura said the administration will recommend budget cuts before the Thanksgiving break.
“We are going to take this and spend this money in a way that is strategic, that is going to increase student outcomes, that is going to give our kids the education they deserve,” Austin ISD Board President Arati Singh said.
