GISD taking tax rate hike to voters

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Voters across Texas are passing higher property tax rates to help fund schools and dig them out of their financial holes.

According to TexasISD.com , voters have approved 21 out of 24 public school tax ratification elections.

Central Texas voters have approved all three that have been on the ballot in Marble Falls, Hutto and Taylor.

Now voters have the chance to add the Georgetown Independent School District to the growing list. The district is putting a measure on the ballot Oct. 9 to raise its property tax rate four cents, from $1.04 to $1.08.

For the average home value of $194,000, that would mean an increase of $78 a year. It would help the district close a $653,674 budget gap and have another $1 million left over to raise teacher salaries for the first time in three years, replace aging technology and old school buses.

Over the last two years, GISD has lost $7.2 million in state funding.

East View High School principal Dave Denny was forced to lay off a few of the 208 employees whose positions were cut.

"Certainly not a day that I enjoyed," said Denny. "Fortunately, most of those folks have found viable opportunities, but not all of them."

The list of other cuts is long. Full day Pre-K went down to half day, student drug testing is no more and substitutes are only called in for classroom teachers.

"If clerical staff is out they just do without that day and if the librarians out, they just close the library that day," said GISD Superintendent Joe Dan Lee.

The district has also moved 22 school buses to a new location closer to their routes which is cutting $211,000 in fuel and labor costs.

The district has also saved $32,000 by downsizing dumpsters and having them emptied less often.

"We're not looking to put any of that back in place, we're just trying to prevent making additional budget reductions," said Lee.