Lampasas Independent School District Superintendent Randy Hoyer explains tax ratification elections during a public hearing Monday night at Lampasas High School. PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Lampasas Independent School District voters have an opportunity to boost LISD revenue while also decreasing the district’s tax rate by 4 cents, Superintendent Randy Hoyer said at a public hearing Monday night.

At the hearing, administrators explained the purpose and consequences of the school district’s Sept. 25 tax ratification election, which is required by state law because LISD’s maintenance and operation tax rate is set to exceed $1.04 per $100 property valuation.

The LISD Board of Trustees recently approved an overall tax rate of $1.46 — including a $1.17 M&O rate — which is four cents lower than the district’s tax rate for the 2009-2010 budget year.

If voters approve the TRE, the $1.46 tax rate will be in effect for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, and LISD revenue will increase by about $1.7 million — including state contribution of about $500,000 — compared to 2009- 2010, LISD Board President James Briggs said.

“Basically, what the state does is, in essence, reward you for maximizing your taxing revenue,” Hoyer added.

Although a successful TRE would lower LISD’s interest and sinking tax rate and generate additional state funding for debt payments, the school district’s debt service payment schedule would not change, LISD chief financial officer Shane Jones said. Voter approval of the TRE also would not remove the district’s self-imposed total tax limit of $1.50 per $100. Most school districts in Texas have tax rates of at least $2 per $100 valuation, Hoyer said.

If LISD residents vote against the TRE, the overall tax rate will drop to $1.33 per $100 valuation and likely will require the district to increase its use of reserve funds, Hoyer said.

The LISD has about $4 million in discretionary reserves, Jones said, as about $8 million of the district’s reserves are saved to ensure three to three-and-a-half months of emergency operating expenses and to maintain cash flow while waiting to receive tax revenue and state funds. The school district will use some of its discretionary reserves to fund operations even if the TRE passes, Hoyer said. If the election fails, however, LISD will use even more reserves and, with the exception of statemandated raises, likely will not be able to increase employees’ pay.

Hoyer said he will not recommend salary increases if the district must use its fund balance to provide increased pay.

Trustees cut about $1.5 million from the 2009-2010 budget, with most cuts coming from the transportation and maintenance departments. In addition, during the past school year the district increased the pay only of teachers and professionals who received state-mandated raises. Administrators’ salaries did not increase, Hoyer noted.

“I just think it’s really a [negative] morale factor when they don’t get their raises,” retired educator Kay Gray Fox said of LISD employees.

Although passage of a TRE may allow LISD trustees to approve a broad set of raises, district officials in the next two to three years plan to reduce the staff level — through attrition, rather than through firings, Hoyer said — by about 25 to 30 positions. Once those resignations and retirements take effect, the employee reductions could save the district between $700,000 and $900,000 annually, the superintendent said.

The recommended staff reductions are based on an audit by the Texas Association of School Boards, Hoyer said.

“It’s not that we truly had excess people,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that services will be done away with. Those responsibilities will have to be divided up other ways or, unfortunately, our kids just will not receive those services.”

Although LISD officials continue to look for ways to limit expenses, Hoyer said passage of TRE would help the district continue to provide for students while decreasing the overall tax rate.

“This is probably a one-shot deal to be able to look the taxpayer in the eye and say, ‘We’re going to maximize our revenue and lower your tax rate,’” the superintendent said.

Despite a decrease in the tax rate, property owners may pay higher tax bills in the new fiscal year than they did in 2009-2010, depending on how much their properties’ appraised values have increased in the last year. The average property within LISD boundaries increased from $112,114 last year to $120,676 this year, meaning the average property owner will pay $78.13 more in taxes in the upcoming fiscal year.

Property owner Don Baker said his tax bill has risen consistently during the last several decades.

“I’ve lived here more than 30 years, and every year I hear, ‘We need to spend more money for the children,’ and it doesn’t get better,” Baker said. “What’s going to be the end point? Why do we keep spending more and more money, and not see any improvement?”

Parents who have children in LISD schools, Mrs. Gray Fox said, can notice educational progress over the years. Dan Claussen, a school board member who also co-owns Lampasas Building Components, attributed to Lampasas educational programs what he described as an increased quality of job applicants at his business in the last 12 years.

“We’re sitting on improvement right here [at the new high school],” added Marta Ellison, a parent of LISD students.

The $1.50 tax ceiling, which can be altered only with voter approval, protects LISD residents against dramatically increasing taxes, regardless of the TRE result, Claussen added.

“No matter what happens the worst that can happen is you will go back to the $1.50 [tax rate], which is where you have been,” Claussen said. “You’re not really going to be paying any more than you have been.”

Baker said to ensure the credibility of information he would like a state legislator to corroborate Hoyer’s explanation of the state funding the LISD can receive if the TRE passes.

Hoyer said he will invite District 54 State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen) to attend or send member of his staff to the LISD’s two remaining TRE forums, which will be Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. at Taylor Creek Elementary and Sept. 23 in the Lampasas High School lecture hall. LISD officials also will speak to civic groups, clubs, businesses and organizations about the TRE if requested, Hoyer said.

The superintendent, who said about 300 of Texas’ 1,040 school districts have held tax ratification elections, said TREs are part of the state’s new public education funding formula, which took effect few years ago. The formula freezes districts’ revenues at 2006-2007 levels, which Hoyer said means school districts with higher property tax bases have more money to use to meet their costs than do districts poorer in property.

Burnet Consolidated Independent School District, for example, collects between $5,200 and $5,300 per student per year based on Weighted Average Daily Attendance figures, Jones said. The LISD, however, collects closer to $5,000 per student annually, the financial officer said.

As LISD enrollment increased by only 17 students in 2009-2010 compared to the previous school year, Hoyer said a TRE gives the district its best opportunity to raise revenue significantly.

“We want our kids to have the same services kids in other districts have,” he said.

Mrs. Ellison said some state policies about school funding have hurt the LISD, but she believes a successful TRE could help improve the district’s situation.

“Shame on the state for mandating us into this predicament,” she said, “but also, thank goodness that they left us with this loophole for funding. Why not take advantage of this? I don’t see a problem with this.”

All registered voters who reside within LISD boundaries — including residents who live outside Lampasas County — may vote in the election, which will be Sept. 25 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Lampasas Middle School. Residents must register to vote by Aug. 27.

Early voting will be weekdays Sept. 8-16 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the LISD Administration Building’s human resource office at 207 W. Eighth St. Voting will be at the same location Sept. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both Sept. 20 and Sept. 21.

Other polling sites are:

· LHS lecture hall from 5-8 p.m. Sept. 9.

· Kline Whitis Elementary Room 2 from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 13.

· Hanna Springs Elementary front gym from 5-7:30 p.m. Sept. 14.

· Taylor Creek Elementary library from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 16.