Kingsville ISD
Kingsville ISD’s School Board called a Voter-Approval Tax Ratification Election or VATRE for Tuesday, November 4 to ask voters to consider approving access 3.17 additional pennies on the Maintenance & Operations tax rate to fund the operating budget. However, the Interest & Sinking side of the tax rate would go down 3.17 pennies for a Net Zero Change in the total tax rate.
KISD is currently facing a $4.2 million operating budget deficit due
to underfunded state mandates, rising inflation, and declining
enrollment.
WHAT IS A VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATIFICATION ELECTION (VATRE)?
A VATRE is a local school funding election that asks voters whether or not they authorize the school district to access the maintenance and operations tax rate to create additional local funding and additional state funding.
A VATRE does not create additional debt for the school district. It generates funds locally for the day-to-day operations of the district. The money stays local, and these additional funds return each year.
YOUR TAX IMPACT
Since 2022, the Kingsville ISD tax rate has decreased by 10.5 cents per $100 of taxable value.
If approved, the VATRE will generate $548,112 more each year – $323,727 in local
funds and $224,385 in state funding.
If not approved, KISD will not have access to the additional $548,112 to reduce the deficit and will need to consider additional budget cuts.
TAX BREAKDOWN WITH AND WITHOUT THE VATRE ELECTION
NET ZERO CHANGE TO OVERALL TAX RATE
If the VATRE is approved, the tax rate will be set at $1.4104 per $100 valuation. If the VATRE is not approved, the tax rate will be set at $1.4104 per $100 valuation. In either scenario, the amount of tax paid by each taxpayer will not be impacted by the VATRE.
The VATRE represents a 3.17-cent tax increase on the Maintenance & Operations tax rate, and will result in $548,112 more in local and state funding to reduce the operating budget deficit by $548,112 and allow us to continue to pay competitive salaries to employees, fund safety mandates and maintain
technology for the classroom. The Interest & Sinking tax rate will go down 3.17 cents.
VOTER INFORMATION
The voter registration deadline for this election is Monday, October 6, 2025. Visit http://www.votetexas.gov to register or check your voter eligibility.
Early Voting is available at the Early Voting Annex of Kleberg County, 720 E. King St., from October 20-31.
Election Day Voting is done by Precinct # on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Learn more about where to vote at votetexas.gov/register-to-vote.
Learn more at Vatre25.kingsvilleisd.com