{"id":3542,"date":"2025-09-30T21:53:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T02:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robertjsmithtx.com\/?p=3542"},"modified":"2025-10-25T11:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T16:27:41","slug":"proposition-a-garland-isd-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertjsmithtx.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/30\/proposition-a-garland-isd-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposition A, Garland ISD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four months.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Four months is a long time to work on a blog post. It\u2019s especially long if you are trying to blend public policy with something that affects you very personally. You want to make sure you give people as much information as they are willing to absorb, and you don\u2019t want to taint any of it with your own bias. I\u2019m going to give it my best, but here\u2019s the transparency alert:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Transparency alert!<\/b><\/span> I was on the citizen steering committee that advised the school board on this issue. My wife is a teacher in the district. I have family who teach elsewhere. My daughter saved roughly a year of tuition through GISD’s dual credit program. I\u2019ve joined every school\u2019s PTA before, and I\u2019m a product of GISD. Despite that, those that know me well know that I will go to great lengths to take a fair approach. I apologize in advance for any blind spots that I have on the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yes, I\u2019m blogging about a tax rate election for an entity who employs my spouse. But, if you\u2019re willing to read to the end, I\u2019ll do my very best to make sure this isn\u2019t a waste of your time. Also, as a former politician, I promise to limit myself to only one folksy aphorism for this post.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing I\u2019ll ask is that you do not cherry pick quotes out of this in ways that ignore the point of the blog. Be honest with the information you share.<\/span><\/p>\n

The What<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Proposition A was approved by the School Board on August 12th. For those who aren\u2019t up to speed on it yet, Prop A is a tax rate increase for the school district that will be on the November ballot.<\/span><\/p>\n

The What It Isn\u2019t<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the bond that was passed in 2023. That\u2019s for buildings. This is the salary side of the budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the City of Garland. That\u2019s a completely separate entity.<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t \u201cpreposition A\u201d. This isn\u2019t something I would end a sentence with. (Sorry, English teachers).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Why<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Senate Bill 2 (SB2), a revenue limiting \/ property tax relief bill that was passed in 2019, aimed to cut local government size and spending by restricting the amount of money they could take in each year irrespective of inflation. SB2 requires the citizens\/taxpayers\/you to say that it\u2019s okay for them to take in more money above the \u201ccap\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

SB2 limited the growth of the school district\u2019s operations budget 2.5% per year. They did that for two reasons- to reduce high taxes, and to shrink local governments. Love it or hate it, that bill is achieving its goal slowly but surely.<\/span><\/p>\n

In theory, SB2\u2019s 2.5% annual cap means O&M revenue could grow about 19% over seven years. In reality, inflation over that same period was closer to 30%. That\u2019s like running a race where your legs grow at 19% a year while the finish line sprints away at 28%.<\/span><\/p>\n

But hey, it\u2019s only 9% in total. That isn\u2019t too bad. The school district should be able to reduce its footprint by 9%, right? Right. Any district could definitely have found 9%. GISD found it and cut it. That should have been the end of the discussion, but it wasn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

That money doesn\u2019t go straight to the district; it goes to the state to pass back out to the districts. What happens if the state decides to just keep paying school districts the same amount of money each year instead of increasing it for inflation?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s more or less what happened. Austin decided not to increase our allotment to match inflation. So instead of a 9% budget diet, we\u2019ve been told to cut our calories by 28%. That\u2019s not trimming fat\u2026 it\u2019s lopping off limbs. And yes, I am saying that the state took in a lot of education tax dollars over the past 6 years and did not spend those dollars on education. Shocked? Me neither.<\/span><\/p>\n

I looked at my own personal finances, and I could cut 9% by cancelling my streaming services, eating only at home, and deferring maintenance on my home. A 28% cut means that my kids don\u2019t get a college fund and I only shower when it rains. Even with slowly falling enrollment numbers, a 28% cut is not a reasonable solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

The district is feeling the crunch of that artificial cap along with being short-changed by the state, and is coming to us to ask if we\u2019ll let it take in money to get it closer to matching inflation. That\u2019s where you come in. In November, you get to decide whether or not they do.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Consequences<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Senior citizens\u2019 tax rates are frozen and are unaffected either way. So, whether you vote yes or no, your homestead taxes will likely go down the same amount next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you vote Yes on Prop A<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The school district will raise the tax rate $0.12 per $100 value of your property. The hit I\u2019ll personally take is probably ~$21\/month. It\u2019s not insignificant. It\u2019ll cover a Netflix subscription, half a tank of gas, or put food on the table for 1-2 nights if you’re frugal. It\u2019s real money, and I don\u2019t want to trivialize it by saying \u201cit\u2019s X number of Starbucks drinks\u201d. We\u2019re all adults here, and I\u2019m not trying to sell you something. $21 is $21.<\/span><\/p>\n

The school district will take in that money (which will trigger some additional amount from the state) and use it to maintain their programs. The state calls it CCMR \u2013 College Career and Military Readiness. In Garland, we teach things like electrical, welding, food service, veterinary assistance, fire\/paramedic, web design, automotive tech, cosmetology, nursing, pharmacy, computer tech, industrial robotics, culinary, hospitality, construction, and a number of others. Blue collar jobs. It also covers the miliary pathway- passing the ASVAB or enlisting. It also offers dual credit classes, where the class you take in high school earns you college credit hours. That money will continue to fully fund those programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you vote No on Prop A<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The school district will not adjust the tax rate. The school district will need to cut their operating costs by about $50 million in 2026. They have ideas on what programs they\u2019ll cut, and my best guess is that we\u2019ll see it primarily in the CCMR space. Everything else is core, mandated curriculum. Programs where their income can offset all of their operating costs will \u2018probably\u2019 be spared, but there are no guarantees. The district will go on existing with a smaller footprint and fewer features. I would think that there would be layoffs to coincide with the program cuts, but your guess is as good as mine as to when and how many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why I could easily vote no<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Between ISD taxes, the money I\u2019ve been putting into my kids\u2019 college funds, my own tuition bill, and paying off my wife\u2019s student loan, I\u2019m about at my limit for what I want to spend on members of the Smith family paying for the privilege to write essays (and blog posts for that matter).<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of thoughts that have run through my head in the past:
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