C-OCISD tax rollback election fails
San Jacinto Newstimes - November 2007

COLDSPRING – Voters in the Coldspring-Oakhurst Consolidated Independent School District (COCISD) sent a clear message Tuesday that they do not favor higher taxes, according to unofficial election results.

Although salary increases for teachers were earmarked for the additional money the proposed property tax rate of $1.24 per $100 valuation would have generated, voters overwhelming turned down the proposed rate by a vote of 728 against and 337 for, clearly indicating they favor the state’s compressed rate of $1.09 per $100 valuation.

COCISD board members proposed the $1.24 tax rate in August, which was $0.1415 higher per $100 valuation than the school district’s rollback tax rate. School District Superintendent Dr. Lynn Cummins said last month that monies collected from the proposed rate would be dedicated to teacher salaries, including raises for current faculty members as well as competitive compensation for new faculty members. During a public hearing several days later, Cummins said he would recommend to the board that monies collected from the proposed rate be used for salary increases. Sending conflicting messages during the hearing, the mention of possibly purchasing new school buses was made if some teachers received $4,000 salary increases while others would receive as little as $500. Cummins later stated that he had received many calls following the hearing from people in the community saying they would vote for the tax rate rollback if each teacher would receive a $4,000 salary increase.

Although the tax rate will go from $1.24 per $100 valuation proposed by the board to $1.09, Cummins stated in October that “the district could be fiscally balanced but it could not compete for quality teachers,” at the $1.09 rate.

The school district’s 27,576 tax statements are prepared by the San Jacinto County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office and will be mailed probably in December, according to Deputy Tax Assessor-Collector Betty McKenzie. The school will pay for the separate mailing cost which will be over $13,000.

County tax statements are being processed this week for mailing.