This fall, voting for the 2022 election will open, and voters will begin to hand in their ballots for local and state elections. One prominent local election will involve deciding on the future of Leander ISD’s financial plan. This election will ultimately determine where excess money from the district’s property will go.

The voter registration deadline ended on October 11, and early voting began on October 24. All votes will conclude on traditional election day, Nov. 8.

When a school district’s property value rises, they have the option to send money back to the state in a process known as recapture. Once the recapture process is triggered, Texas requires districts to hold elections in order to decide if they will send money to the state’s government, or withhold it in order to re-incorporate the money back into the district. 

This decision is divided solely into two propositions for voters to decide on; both of which share traits that could affect the school district in multiple ways. It’s important to understand that in voting for one proposition, a voter is actively voting against the opposite one. With this in mind, the opposition of one vote has numerous effects that are equally as important to know.

Prop A would permit the recapture process. Essentially, this means that the excess property taxes would be handed over to the state in the form of required monthly payments. Doing so would allow the money to be used in order to even out the state’s budget. 

If voters decide against Prop A, the state would lose excess tax revenue that it uses to balance the budget shortfalls. 

Then, there’s Prop B. When this option is approved, the district would be able to raise up to thirty-two million dollars which would directly fuel salary increases for all educators within the district. Leander’s property tax rates would also be reduced by 6.24 cents in comparison to the previous year.

 However, if Prop B fails, the district could lose up to 35 million dollars in budget funds. This deficit would force Leander’s schools to cut corners and likely reconsider previously established programs, jobs, and resources. 

According to the Texas Tribune, only 17.7% of Texas’s 17.2 million registered voters cast ballots for the 2022 midterm primaries.