• If the VATRE is approved, CHISD will give teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses a one-time $2,500 stipend in January 2024.

• If the VATRE is approved, CHISD will give other staff including bus drivers, custodians and paraprofessionals a one-time $1,000 stipend in January.

RATIFYING THE AD VALOREM TAX RATE OF $1.1326 IN CEDAR HILL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE CURRENT YEAR, A RATE THAT WILL RESULT IN AN DECREASE OF 4.87% PERCENT IN MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS TAX RATE FOR THE DISTRICT FOR THE CURRENT YEAR AS COMPARED TO THE PRECEDING YEAR, WHICH IS AN ADDITIONAL $6,832,290 TOTAL LOCAL AND STATE M&O REVENUE. 

Unfortunately, CHISD’s needs did not go away with the failure of the November 2022 VATRE. There is still a need to provide teachers and support staff with a competitive salary, and with the passage of HB 3, additional funding is needed to hire 9 additional police officers.

Districts in the metroplex that have already received voter approval through a VATRE to increase their tax rate include DeSoto, Duncanville, Mansfield, Dallas, Lancaster, Mesquite, Fort Worth, Burleson, Keller, Irving, Grand Prairie and Denton.

A Voter-Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) is an election required by the State Legislature to ask voters to approve a modified tax rate to increase revenue for teachers and staff which directly impacts classroom instruction.

Through a voter approved tax rate election (VATRE), Cedar Hill ISD is expected to generate an additional $6.8 million each year.

Simply put, bond elections fund buildings and tangibles.  A voter-approved tax rate election funds people and operations.

A VATRE is for the Maintenance and Operations Tax Rate that supports the General Fund or day-to-day operations, such as maintaining student programs, retaining quality teachers, and upholding safety and security standards.

A bond election is for the Interest and Sinking Tax Rate that supports the Debt Service Fund to pay bonds that finance things like new buildings, renovations, buses, and equipment for safety and security.

CHISD currently has the lowest revenue per student in the area. among Dallas county school districts, CHISD ranks 16 out of 16.

CHISD has lost ground in competitive market pay for teachers over the last several years. Competing districts with more revenue can effectively attract and retain quality educators through higher salaries. A VATRE would be used to increase teacher and staff compensation.

A Voter Approval Tax Rate Election is the only way for school districts to add funding to their operations budget – teacher salaries, security personnel, etc – without state action.  The legislature has not added any new money to schools despite rising costs due to inflation.  Without additional funding, Cedar Hill ISD will lose its ability to provide competitive compensation to teachers and staff.

No. If you have applied for and received the age 65 and older exemption on your homestead, by law, your school taxes cannot be raised above their frozen level. 

The appraised value could change, and the tax rate will change, but the amount of school taxes on your homestead cannot increase. Normal repairs, maintenance, and the economic impact of the market cannot increase the amount of taxes you will pay once a tax ceiling is in place on that homestead.

Therefore, if the VATRE is approved, it will not have an impact on the tax bill for homesteads that are receiving the senior citizen exemption, unless you make significant improvements to your home.

CHISD looks at purchases through 4 strategic goals:

1. Provide High Quality Teaching to all Learners

2. Maintain a Safe & Secure Learning Environment

3. Preserve Fund Balance (3-mos Operating Expenditures)

4. Engage Children in/out of School

Cedar Hill ISD works diligently to be a good fiscal of taxpayers’ dollars.  The district has combed through the budget and made $1.21 million in cuts through staff reductions and identifying positions and programs that could be funded through grants or federal funds.   

CHISD has been awarded:

“A” Rating in Financial Integrity

TASBO Award of Merit For Purchasing

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting

• Tax rate compression is an intentional act to lower the tax rate by the state, to reduce what taxpayers owe. In recent years, tax rate compression efforts have centered on using state funds to buy down school district M&O tax rates to reduce property tax bills.

  Reducing the M&O portion of the tax rate caps earnings from local property taxes to about 2.5 percent each year. Because of this, an increase in property values does not equal a proportional increase in funds to CHISD.

CHISD has proposed a tax rate of $1.1326 per $100 of taxable property value.  If the VATRE passes, a $300,000 median priced home, with $100,000 homestead exemption, would pay $2,265 a year in the CHISD portion of the tax bill. That is $830 less than what property owners paid in 2022 thanks to tax compression and the proposed SB2 increased homestead exemption from the state.

Therefore, if the VATRE is approved by voters, this average homeowner will save at least $69 per month on the CHISD portion of their property tax bill and be able to fund additional CHISD campus police officers and provide competitive salaries for teachers.