AUSTIN (KXAN) — School board trustees in Round Rock ISD and Pflugerville ISD have voted to put increased pay for teachers on the ballot in November.

Both districts have called for a Voter Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) this fall. This would change how certain pennies are spent in the district.

Both districts say raising pay for staff is at the heart of these elections. They said these proposals are directly related to the inaction of lawmakers on increasing funding during the regular session of the Texas legislature.

According to PfISD, if the VATRE is approved, the average taxpayer’s tax bill will decrease by $650 a year, if it fails the rate would decrease by $831 per year. PfISD said the VATRE would provide $10.7 million to the district.

“We and other districts asked for $1,000 increase in the student allotment, that did not happen. There were a couple other things added that are mandatory for us to take care of also without really adequate funding. And so having the VATRE is really imperative,” said Tamra Spence, chief communications officer for PfISD.

RRISD projects its tax rate if the VATRE goes through, would lower to $0.9190. This a slight difference from the ’22-’23 difference of $1.0626.

This is RRISD’s first ever VATRE election. Superintendent Dr. Hafedh Azaiez said, if approved, teachers and staff would receive anywhere from a 3-6% salary raise on the first paycheck following the election. They would also be paid retroactively for the months they worked before November.

“We would make sure that is retroactive to the first day of their contract for this year, so that would be retroactive to July.,” Azaiez said.