TAYLOR ISD
Taylor Independent School District trustees are putting a $147 million bond issue on the November ballot to provide more operational funding and to pay for additional construction, equipment and land.
That was the word from Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen at the Thursday, Aug. 14, school board meeting where she proposed placing the referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The board also heard an update on the 2022 bond and attendance protocols for the new school year. Classes started Wednesday, Aug. 13.
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It’s a balanced approach to meeting growth projections and program requirements while still lowering the tax rate.”
— Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen In the matter of the November election, Garcia-Edwardsen said the propositions on the referendum will include a Voter Approved Tax Rate Election.
According to state law, if a school district wants to hike its maintenance and operations tax rate to fund daily operations such as salaries and equipment above a certain amount, voters must approve the measure.
VATREs usually affect property-tax rates.
According to the superintendent’s presentation, the VATRE will lower school tax rates and provide more operational funding for the district, while the bond will pay for more construction and renovation, as well as land purchases and items such new buses.
“These measures address both long-term facility needs and the resources required to sustain high-quality classroom instruction. It’s a balanced approach to meeting growth projections and program requirements while still lowering the tax rate,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
The district is preparing a website to provide more detailed information and a timeline.
The proposal arose from the work of a 113-member Community Advisory Committee that includes Taylor ISD staff, parents and community members, officials said.
The recommendation for a bond went to the school board after the committee reviewed extensive data concerning the budget, facility conditions, enrollment and long-term needs, officials said.
Trustees also considered demographic studies and facility assessments before calling the election.
“The board and I look forward to providing voters with clear information about each proposition and how they will impact our students,” said Marco Ortiz, school board president.
Although the 89th Texas Legislature just approved $8.5 billion in school funding to the state’s 1,200 school districts that included teacher pay raises, lawmakers declined to OK a significant increase to the base amount of funding schools receive to teach students, also known as the basic allotment.
The district doesn’t yet have the 2025-26 student enrollment numbers, but last year it was over 3,000 and by 2032 projected enrollment could be more than 6,000.
In other board business, Aaron Gardner of Rice & Gardner Consultants Inc. provided trustees an update on the district’s 2022 bond.
“We’re wrapping up,” Gardner said. “We’re down to “a handful of punch items.” Taylor ISD’s Jennifer Patschke, assistant superintendent of human resources, and Daniella Ogundare, director of student services, also presented trustees with the district’s attendance plan for the new school year.
Ogundare shared that if there is an outbreak of illness in the schools, additional cleaning and disinfecting will be done in the buildings or even in a particular classroom if necessary.
Other steps, such as calling parents if a child is not at school that day or teachers monitoring the hallways in secondary schools, helped in student attendance last school year and the district plans to continue these practices. Patschke noted some parents have said schools only care about attendance because the campuses get more funding from the state.
“Increased attendance does so much more than help the district earn additional dollars,” Patschke said.
Regular school attendance directly impacts student success. “Students will have more instruction time leading to higher academic performance and better test results, whatever grade they’re in,” Patschke said.
Regular attendance also helps students build peer relationships, participate in more extracurricular activities and enjoy enrichment opportunities, she said.
“We want them to come to school because they love it,” Patschke said.
The next school board meeting is 7 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Taylor ISD boardroom, 3101 N. Main St.
