Five San Antonio-Area School Districts Ask Voters to Raise Their Own Tax Rates on Nov. 3

Five San Antonio-area school districts are asking their own voters for a tax-rate increase in the Nov. 3 election, in voter-approval tax rate elections known as VATREs, according to Focus on San Antonio's election preview read in full by the Politics Desk. The five are East Central, Northside, San Antonio, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City and South San Antonio ISDs. District leaders say state funding has not kept pace with inflation, rising operating costs and budget deficits; under Texas law, a rate increase of this kind requires an election, and the new revenue can pay for daily operations such as staff wages and student programs. Regardless of district, the preview notes, disabled taxpayers and those 65 and older will not have their taxes increased even if a VATRE passes.

The largest ask is Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD's: a 12-cent increase that would generate $8.2 million in local funding and trigger $6.9 million in additional state funding, used to wipe out the district's $8 million budget shortfall and support operating expenses, staff recruitment and retention, and student programs — an estimated additional $18 per month on the average district homestead. SCUC voters rejected a smaller request last fall and approved a bond this spring, the preview reports. Northside ISD seeks three cents — $21.5 million local and $24 million in additional state funding — for its 2026-27 staff compensation plan, including a 2 percent pay boost for all employees, with any leftover applied to the district's budget deficit; the cost is put at an additional $30 per year for every $100,000 in home value. Northside and San Antonio ISDs also have separate bond packages on the same ballot, which affect the debt-service portion of the rate, not operations.

San Antonio ISD seeks a 3.17-cent increase generating $5.5 million in new total funding for staff pay, college and career-readiness programs, and teacher recruitment and retention — an additional $5.55 per month on a $350,000 home after exemptions, per the preview. East Central ISD proposes a 3.72-cent operations increase while having lowered its debt-service segment from 26.5 cents to 22.7 cents, leaving the total rate moving from 93.1 cents to 93.2 cents; ratification would generate $5.37 million in local revenue and trigger $3.1 million in state funding for compensation, performance pay, safety personnel and student programs, at an estimated additional 13 cents per month on a $270,000 home after exemptions. South San Antonio ISD's is the smallest: a 0.11-cent boost generating $3 million in new total funding for pay raises for paraprofessionals and auxiliary employees, replacing and repairing mariachi and band instruments, and upgrading equipment from digital devices and athletic field surfaces to campus heating and cooling systems. Early voting runs through Oct. 30 and Election Day is Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.