Voters in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD will decide Nov. 3 on two measures the district says are needed to keep its budget steady until state lawmakers increase school funding.
One would raise the property tax rate by 4 cents. The other is a $20 million bond for school buses, Superintendent Jerry Hollingsworth told the Fort Worth Report in a story published Thursday.
The district covers the northwest corner of Tarrant County, including part of Fort Worth's northwest side; city planning documents list it among the districts serving areas on the edges of Fort Worth.
The numbers
The district is running an $11.3 million shortfall, according to Hollingsworth. The tax rate increase would bring in $6.1 million a year for daily operations, and the owner of a $250,000 home would pay about $44 more a year, the district said.
Buses are now bought out of the operating budget. Moving them to voter-approved debt would free about $3 million a year, and the bond would cost the same homeowner about 11 cents a year, according to the district. If both pass, roughly $2.2 million would pay for an extra 1% staff raise.
Altogether the measures would give the district access to about $9.1 million a year.
Chief Financial Officer Robb Welch estimated the shortfall would still be about $9.5 million with both measures approved. "It doesn't fix the problem. It just alleviates the symptoms," Hollingsworth said.
