Early voting closed Tuesday for two separate tax ratification elections in the Krum and Sanger school districts.
On Saturday, the school districts will each hold an election in which they will ask voters to approve a 13-cent maintenance and operations tax rate increase.
The state requires school districts to call a tax ratification election for any maintenance and operations tax increase above $1.04 per $100 valuation. The maintenance and operations tax supports day-to-day operating expenses.
Early voting took place from Aug. 20 to Sept. 2.
In that time, the Krum school district received 201 votes — 156 people cast ballots in person and 45 submitted mail-in ballots, according to Kerry Martin, Denton County deputy elections administrator.
In the Sanger school district election, 260 people voted early — 214 people voted in person and 46 submitted mail-in ballots, Martin said.
The cutoff date for registering to vote in Saturday’s election was Aug. 7, Martin said.
As of Tuesday, the Krum district had 5,015 registered voters and the Sanger district had 7,786 registered voters. Since Aug. 8, the number of registered voters in the Krum district increased by 16 and the Sanger district jumped by 35 registered voters.
District officials in Krum have said the 13-cent maintenance and operations increase would generate an additional $1.3 million annually that could be used to support employee pay raises and facility and technology expenses.
In June, the Krum school board voted to increase the operations tax rate 13 cents and decrease the debt rate, which funds the district’s debt obligations, by 13 cents. District officials have said that with approval of the 13-cent operations increase, taxpayers will not see an increase to the overall $1.54 per $100 valuation tax rate.
If voters deny the 13-cent maintenance and operations increase, the district must revert or roll back the operations rate to $1.04. That would mean an annual decrease of $130 in property taxes for a house valued at $100,000, and the Krum district over the next four years would absorb deficits to its debt fund with $2.8 million from reserves, Superintendent Cody Carroll has previously said.
Officials in Krum say they spread word of the tax ratification election by distributing educational brochures to businesses in town, via information on the district website and through its school messenger system and school newsletters.
The Krum district also conducted two public forums — on Aug. 14 and 19. There was a poor turnout for both events, Carroll said.
With the exception of district personnel, three people each attended the two forums, he said. Of those who attended the forums, Carroll said he felt “everybody left feeling confident in what we were proposing.”
“I am confident we have done all we can to inform the voters,” he said.
People in opposition to the tax rate increase in Krum have voiced concerns that it’s a case of borrowing from “Peter to pay Paul” by increasing the rate on one end and decreasing the rate on the debt service side.
There’s a concern the debt tax rate decrease will result in the funds’ reserves depleting and the district coming back later to increase the debt tax rate to offset debt payments and replenish the fund’s reserves.
District officials in Sanger say the 13-cent maintenance and operations tax rate increase would generate $1.6 million annually and could support an additional pay increase for district personnel.
Sanger anticipates the 13-cent operations tax increase will generate an additional $1.6 million annually.
In July, the Sanger school board set the district tax rate at $1.502067. That breaks down to $1.17 per $100 valuation for the operations tax and 33 cents for the debt tax rate, also known as interest and sinking.
When setting the tax rate ordinance, the board passed a resolution stating that if voters approved the operations tax increase, the district would lower its debt rate from 33 cents to 20 cents per $100 valuation to offset the increase to the operations rate.
Superintendent Kent Crutsinger has previously said the 13-cent debt tax rate reduction would essentially leave the district with a $1.37 per $100 valuation tax rate and no tax rate increase.
If the election fails, the operations tax rate would revert to $1.04 per $100 valuation, the interest and sinking tax rate would remain at 33 cents per $100 valuation and the district would generate no additional funding.
The Sanger district provided information about the upcoming election via the district website, a YouTube video, meetings with small groups and by conducting a public forum Aug. 14.
Attempts to reach Sanger district administrators Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sanger and Krum school districts’ administration buildings.
The Sanger ISD Administration Building is at 601 Elm St., and the Krum ISD Administration Building is at 1200 Bobcat Blvd.
BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876 and via Twitter at @BritneyTabor.
