VOTING ENDS SOON FOR BRENHAM ISD TAX RATE, BOND ELECTIONS
With early voting soon winding down and Election Day right around the corner, voters in Brenham ISD will soon know the outcome of a pair of voter propositions aimed at increasing employee pay and upgrading facilities.
Two items are on the ballot for consideration. One is a voter approval tax rate election (VATRE) that will raise the property tax rate by approximately 3 cents, also called 3 “golden pennies”, in order to bring in an extra $2.45 million in maintenance and operations (M&O) funding. Those funds would be used for teacher and staff pay raises, as well as operational needs.
Carl Prihoda and Katie Burch, members of Brenham ISD’s strategic planning committee that worked to identify school needs that make up the propositions, spoke last week on the KWHI Community Corner to discuss the VATRE and bond. Prihoda said a major discussion point for the committee was figuring out ways to recruit and retain employees, and the VATRE was developed as a possible solution to work toward that goal.
The 3 cents in the VATRE are called “golden pennies” because they are not subject to state recapture, meaning the revenue generated stays within the district. The VATRE coincides with proposed increases to homestead exemptions in the Constitutional Amendment election.
The other item up for a vote is a $39 million bond measure that intends to address capital improvement projects that have been deemed a necessity by the strategic planning committee, covering issues with HVAC, plumbing, roofing and electrical.
Superintendent Clay Gillentine, visiting with KWHI on a recent edition on the Brenham ISD Roundtable, said the bond will not raise the district’s interest and sinking (I&S) tax rate above its current level of 8 cents. This is because the district has prepaid debt off early, allowing extra flexibility for this proposal.
As for what is included on the district’s list of proposed capital improvements, Prihoda and Burch said the strategic planning committee identified projects across several campuses and facilities that range from needing attention in a few years to requiring prompt action within the coming months. They said the bond will take care of several of the immediate needs while also helping to set out a long-term plan to avoid having to pay for large projects out of the district’s fund balance.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the final day of early voting at the Washington County Courthouse Annex, with hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday for Election Day, as well.
KWHI will have election coverage when polls close on Tuesday on AM 1280, FM 101.7 and kwhi.com.
More information about the election proposals can be seen at https://brenhamisd.net.