FAQ

A voter-approved tax ratification election (VATRE) allows a school district to utilize additional pennies on its tax rate in order to generate additional revenue.  As the name indicates, this must be approved by voters within the school district.

A VATRE would generate approximately $3.7 million in funding for school district operations, including safety, instruction, staff, transportation, maintenance, extracurricular activities, and other daily operating expenses. Like most school districts across the state, Alvarado ISD adopted a deficit budget for the 2024-2025 school year following legislative inaction. State funding for school districts has not been updated since 2019 despite substantial inflation, leading to multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls in school districts across Texas. Additionally, though they approved $4 billion in new funding for public schools in 2023, state leaders still have not made those funds available to public schools.

If the VATRE is approved by voters in November, the total tax rate will increase by 11.77 cents.  This would represent an average yearly increase of $180 ($15 a month) on a home valued at $250,000 that has a homestead exemption.

Taxpayers over age 65 , who have applied for their exemption, would incur no tax rate increase unless they make substantial improvements to their home.

The graph below shows the yearly comparison of the bottom five school district tax rates in Johnson County.

The chart below shows the M&0 tax rate history for Alvarado ISD. The 2024-2025 rate is based on the Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election passing. If it does not pass, the rate will drop to a 66.69 cents rate.

We will be hosting community meetings through the Fall. Once those are scheduled we will list the dates, times and places here.

Property and auto insurance costs for Alvarado ISD have went up 119% since 2019. In 2023 the district elected to go with a 2% deductible to keep costs down as much as possible. The district again went with a higher deductible of 3% in 2024 in an effort to offset what would have been an even larger increase in cost.

Since 2019, electricity costs for the school district have went up over 89 percent. The only addition to the school district's electricity grid  during that time is the 6th grade wing at Alvarado Junior High.

Yes, however, commercial properties do not qualify for the homestead exemption.

There are significant costs associated with going out for a VATRE. Each time, the district must have an external auditing firm conduct an efficiency audit. There are also additional expenses due to the county to put on an election. 

We are currently deficit budgeting this year by $1.3 million. Asking for a portion of the 12 cents would get us out of the deficit budget, but does not address the priorities of safety and security, deferred maintenance, and competitive pay.

Compensation increases will be given to all employees. However, the increases will not be a flat percentage across the board. Instead, they will vary based on the job categories. Some job categories are further out of alignment with the state than others.

That is left up to the discretion of the legislatures.

The district is in a co-op with other school districts. The co-op shops around for the best coverage and cost.