By Jim Foreman
Early voting has begun on the Friendswood ISD Voter-Approval Tax Ratification Election, or VATRE. Unfortunately, concerns have arisen regarding the clarity of the ballot language.
The ballot’s wording suggests that the proposal pertains to an increase in the school district tax rate. However, the stated increase is actually a negative number, a 13.46% decrease over the previous year. This discrepancy arises from the state-prescribed wording on the ballot. Approving the new tax rate will result in greater funding for the district, yet it remains lower than rates seen in previous years.
Remarkably, if sanctioned, the new tax rate of $1.08 per $100 of valuation will be the lowest school district tax rate in the past four decades.
In the event that voters opt to reject the proposal, the new tax rate will decrease further to $1.0224 per $100 of valuation. While this would translate to additional savings for taxpayers, it would also mean a lack of new revenue for the district, and, consequently, no salary enhancements for teachers.
