I am writing to provide some additional transparency and clarity into the recent resolution from Groveton Independent School District in calling for a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election or VATRE. A well-known concept used to gather information is to explore six fundamental questions to gain a better understanding of any topic. If you want to know all the answers to any issue, you have to ask about who, what, when, where, why, and how. My goal is to revisit this concept and attempt to answer those questions for all of you who may be interested, worried, or concerned about the VATRE.
•Who called for the voter approval tax rate election? The local board of trustees along with the recommendation from the school superintendent, initiated the VATRE on Aug. 18.
Who advises the school board to make decisions like these? The board of trustees are advised by the school superintendent who receives his advice from a variety of sources such as financial advisors, the Region Service Center, the Texas Education Agency, and the school’s legal counsel. The superintendent reviews many factors that affect the overall budget, such as financial forecasts and the current status of the economy, along with two major factors that affect total revenue which is student enrollment and tax collections.
Who is allowed to vote in the Groveton ISD tax rate election? Any registered voter, 18 years or older, who resides in the Groveton Independent School District.
•What will happen if the voters approve the VATRE? If the VATRE is approved, it will provide Groveton ISD with an additional $954,000 in annual revenue. A total of $549,000 will be collected from local taxpayers while the State’s additional funding will be in the amount of $415,000.
What will the money be used for? Additional funding will be used to sustain programs of choice for students, help provide competitive salaries and incentives for teachers and support staff, as well as aid in balancing the budget.
What will happen if the VATRE is not approved? If the VATRE is not approved the proposed tax rate of $0.7819 will drop to $0.6619 and Groveton ISD will not receive the additional $954,000 in annual revenue.
What’s the catch? There is no catch. The key words to remember in this election is voter approval, which means the voters will determine if the proposed tax rate is adopted or not.
•When will the VATRE take place? When can I go vote? Early voting will take place between Oct. 20 and Oct. 31, and on Election Day which is on Nov. 4.
When will we know the results of the election? Results of the election will not be final until the official canvass of the post-election process has been conducted by election officials who will then certify the results. The canvassing of this election will take place between Nov. 7-17 and the official results will be shared publicly once this process has been completed.
•Where do I go to vote? Your specific voting location depends upon where you reside in the district. Groveton ISD is located within Trinity County and parts of Houston County. Early voting for Trinity County residents will take place in the Groveton ISD administration building located at 207 N. Main in Groveton.
Early voting for Houston County residents will take place in the Houston County Senior Citizens Center located at 716 W. Well in Crockett, Texas. Please be aware that each polling location has different hours of operation and you can view those times once the official order has been posted. All postings and publications will be available to the public by Oct. 10 in order to comply with all legal posting and publication requirements.
•Why has Groveton ISD called for a VATRE? There are four major factors as to why the local board of trustees have made the decision to call for a voter approval tax rate election. The first factor is lost revenue from the state and federal government along with a historical reduction in the tax rate over the past seven years. In past years Groveton ISD would receive monies from the Federal Forestry Service due to the fact that much of the land in our school district is National Forest and the school district does not receive tax contributions on federal forest land.
However, over the past seven years the district would receive federal contributions averaging about $95,000 a year but over time these amounts are almost non-existent. For instance, during the 2017-2018 school year Groveton ISD received $119,000 in federal forestry money and we continued to receive anywhere from $80,000 to $99,000 until last year. For the 2024-2025 school year our federal forestry money contribution was $7,450.
Groveton ISD has also seen a large reduction in SHARS reimbursements from the State. SHARS refers to School Health and Related Services, which is directly related to reimbursements the school receives for providing services for students with special needs. For instance, during the 2018-2019 school year Groveton ISD received $175,000 in SHARS reimbursements and we continued to receive anywhere from $63,000 to $137,000 until last year. For the 2024-2025 school year our total SHARS reimbursement was $15,000.
Lastly, tax rate reductions have affected all public schools across the State which is why many schools have called for a VATRE. When you look at the tax rate for Groveton ISD over the past 10 years, it has been reduced from $1.04 to $0.66, well below the current state average of $0.92. The lowering of the tax rate is primarily due to the increasing appraisals.
The second major factor to help explain why is total student enrollment and average daily attendance. Public schools in Texas receive funding based upon their ADA or average daily attendance. Over the years total student enrollment has varied, and our refined average daily attendance peaked during the 2019-2020 school year at 730. In March of 2020 public schools in Texas closed their doors due to COVID-19 and most public schools have tried to recover or rebuild their enrollment. Last year, our refined average daily attendance was 683 and our projections for this school year will be even lower.
The third major factor to help explain why is rising costs of goods and services. The price of everything has gone up and the current financial climate does not indicate that prices will be dropping anytime soon. Some examples of where Groveton ISD has seen some major increases in costs have been in instructional materials, technology devices, and technology licensing; along with drastic increases in transportation expenses and food costs for the cafeteria.
The fourth major factor to help explain why, and probably the most important factor is the opportunity to access additional state funding. It is important to revisit that the state’s contribution is only a few percentage points away from what our local taxpayers will contribute. If the VATRE is approved the State will be responsible for $415,000 of the total $954,000. In other words, taxpayers will be contributing roughly 57 percent of the additional revenue while the contributions from the State will make up the remining 43 percent.
•How will this affect me as a taxpayer? Approving the VATRE will raise your taxes, but the total amount depends upon your property values, your age, and what exemptions you have in place or currently qualify for. The higher your property values the higher your taxes will be. For instance, if your property values total $150,000 you will see a $15 per month increase in school taxes. Your age along with qualifying exemptions will determine if you see any type of tax increase. If you are 65 or older you are eligible for several property tax breaks and you should not see any type of tax increase due to the VATRE.
How can I get more information about the proposed VATRE? For more information, please visit the school district’s website and click on the VATRE button on the home page or go directly to www.grovetonisd.net/vatre. Feel free to contact the superintendent directly by phone at (936)-642-1473 Ext 8001 or email the superintendent at jim_dillard@grovetonisd.net.
Groveton ISD will have a town hall meeting on Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Groveton ISD cafeteria. My part in this process is not to persuade you to vote for or against the approval of the VATRE but rather provide you with facts and present you with information that you may need or want to make an informed decision. Hopefully, this has provided more clarity on the proposed VATRE from Groveton ISD, and I encourage all of you to come out and vote.
