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Liberty Hill ISD auditor outlines VATRE revenue estimate of about $6.2 million; board hears staffing and pay implications
Summary
An outside auditor told trustees the district's required efficiency audit for a possible voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE) estimates roughly $6.2 million in additional revenue, which officials said would be used for teacher pay, instructional programs and extracurriculars; trustees pressed for peer comparisons and flagged fund-balance and turnover concerns.
An auditor from Moak Casey presented the Liberty Hill Independent School District's efficiency audit on Sept. 16 as the district prepares for a potential voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE). The audit, required under House Bill 3, projected the VATRE could generate about $6.2 million for the district.
"Your district anticipates generating around $6,200,000," the presenter said, and added the impact per taxpayer would be roughly $253 per year (about $21 a month) under the scenario described. The consultant said the district intends to use the additional revenues to support "teacher salary increases, additional instructional programs, and extracurricular activities."
The auditor explained the audit is a data-driven exercise intended to give voters comparable information. She described the difference between "golden" pennies, which are not subject to state recapture, and "copper" pennies, which can be compressed and recaptured if the state's basic allotment changes. She told trustees that, even with VATRE, Liberty Hill's projected tax rate would remain lower than several peer districts.
Trustees and staff discussed the district's revenue-per-student and spending metrics. The presenter said Liberty Hill's operating expenditures per student are roughly $2,100 below the state average and that district payroll and base teacher salaries are lower than some peers, factors she said can influence teacher turnover. "You're bringing in less, which is partly because you have a lower WADA and because you have a lower tax rate," she stated.
Board members asked whether increasing the VATRE to the maximum pennies would close the gap with peers; the auditor cautioned that state funding formulas and special-population weights make exact comparisons difficult. She also noted fund-balance benchmarks from the Texas Education Agency and told trustees the district met the agency's 75-day threshold used in some TEA ratings but had met the 90-day target in only two of the five years reviewed.
The presentation included peer comparisons of enrollment, weighted average daily attendance (WADA), special-population shares and staffing ratios. Trustees said the data would help inform community conversations about whether voters should approve additional local tax effort. The auditor offered to provide additional district-level fund-balance comparisons on request.
The board did not take a vote on a VATRE at the meeting; the audit was presented to inform future decisions and public outreach.
