Some of you have followed the current Hutto Independent School District (HISD) revenue crisis here, here, and here. HISD called for an increased Maintenance and Operations tax rate, triggering a tax ratification election. A similar measure failed by a 10 point margin last year. This past Saturday, September 1st, was the official election date, following 2 weeks of early voting.

The results are in, and Proposition 1 passed in a landslide, 854 (66.67%) voting ‘FOR’, 427 (33.33%) voting ‘AGAINST’.

Early voting brought in 987 total votes, with 1281 total votes being cast in the entire election cycle. With Proposition 1 the only thing on the ballot, voter turnout was roughly 12%, a huge number for an off-cycle, single-issue election.

In early voting, ‘FOR’ votes outnumbered ‘AGAINST’ votes 722 to 265.

This is a huge victory for HISD and – more importantly – for the children they educate.

Hippos United worked hard during the lead up to voting, throughout early voting, and even on Election Day itself. We are incredibly proud of our community, our voters, our volunteers, and the community organizations and leaders that helped us along the way.

We, collectively, have secured a quality education for our children for the coming 4-5 years, with no need to fear further cuts from the state.

We, collectively, have proved that a huge impact can still be made at the local level. We’ve shown that communities, even in the middle of a vast Conservative State, can still be swayed to contribute to the good of the whole.

We’re Happy Hutto Hippos today.

This is what activism looks like.

Hippos United is a non-profit organization, staffed by volunteers to address political and community issues in the city of Hutto, Texas. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @HipposUnited, or visit our website.

Hutto High School (Photo: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia)

Hello everyone! Last time we wrote, Hutto Independent School District (HISD) had called for an increased Maintenance and Operations tax rate, triggering a Tax Ratification Election (TRE). This TRE has been listed on the ballot as Proposition 1, and is the only thing on the ballot. Early voting has come and gone, and the official election day is this coming Saturday, September 1st.

Early voting was a huge success. See here (link will open virtual version of The Hutto News). The relevant article, by Editor Elizabeth Page, is midway down the front page on the right side. According to Williamson County officials

 During the first day of early voting held at Hutto High School Aug 15, 293 voters cast ballots in the tax ratification election, which (sic) a record for the first day of early voting in any county election

This was huge. Only 742 voters turned out for last year’s failed TRE. From HISD Superintendent Dr. Doug Killian

We’re hoping to get a high voter turnout because we want to hear from folks. With 10,700 registered voters, I think about a thousand voters would be reasonable. We want to have a good statement about what’s next.

As of the close of early voting at 6pm on August 29th, 990 votes had been cast.The officials at HISD are crediting this increase in turnout to the efforts of Hippos United!

In other news, Proposition 1 won the full endorsement of the local Hutto Chamber of Commerce. The Hutto Chamber moved the issue up the chain to the Great Austin Chamber of Commerce. On August 27th, the Austin Chamber issued this press release (.pdf), offering their full support.

From the release

‘Hutto ISD has made difficult spending cuts, restructured central administration, invested in critical staff to improve student success in college and career and embarked on an effort to create a Human Capital strategy,’ said Tony Befi, IBM Vice President of POWER Systems and Storage Management and the Greater Chamber’s 2012 Education/Talent Council Chair. ‘Now is the time for Hutto ISD citizens to vote by September 1 in favor of their school district.’

Voters in Hutto have one more opportunity to answer Tony Befi and Dr. Doug Killian’s calls to head to the polls. Voting on the official election date will take place at Hutto Elementary School from 7am to 7pm.

Hippos United will be outside the polls on Saturday with signs, urging voters to cast their vote FOR Proposition 1.

Our internal opinion here at Hippos United is that large turnout favors our effort;  more voters means a higher likelihood of Proposition 1 succeeding. We are very pleased with the efforts of our volunteers and the response from our community.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated time, resources, money, or praise to our efforts in support of HISD. It has meant the world to us, to our community, and to our children’s futures. Thank you so much Hippos!

Hippos United is a non-profit organization, staffed by volunteers to address political and community issues in the city of Hutto, Texas. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @HipposUnited, or visit our website.

Hutto High School (Photo: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia)

Last night at the Hutto Independent School Board (HISD) Meeting the Board unanimously passed a motion to increase Hutto’s effective school district tax rate by 7.9%, to $1.67 per $100 in property valuation. This tax rate is comprised of two parts; an I&S (interest and sinking) rate of $_.50, which covers debt payments on construction projects from the past years, and an M&O rate of $1.17, which covers maintenance and operations costs. Texas State law places a tax ceiling on school districts for M&O rates of $1.04. Any increase above this amount triggers a TRE, or Tax Ratification Election.

This election will be held on September 1st. Early voting opens August 15th.

The meeting opened with a special public session where Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Eduardo Ramos gave a detailed presentation of the various aspects of HISD’s current financial state. Mr. Ramos covered every aspect of a complex situation, including contrasting HISD’s spending per student against surrounding districts. HISD is one of the lowest, spending $6,637 per student in the 2011-2012 school year. Mr. Ramos’ complete presentation can be found here (.pdf at the bottom) along with a comprehensive explanation of the TRE process.

After Mr. Ramos’ presentation the board opened the floor for a question and answer session with the general public. This lasted about 20 minutes, including board members asking questions of Mr. Ramos. The board then entered closed session to discuss other personnel-related agenda matters.

When the Board returned from closed session the floor was given over again, this time for public comments addressed to the board. 4 people spoke in total, 3 in support of the TRE and 1 opposed. See here for great coverage of the comments from Elizabeth Page at The Hutto News:

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Editor’s Note: This is the second MyFDL report on Hutto ISD and its hippos. For the first report see Hippos United — Save Our Schools.

Tonight at 7:00 our local School District will hold an open session before a vote to hold a Tax Ratification Election on September 1st of this year. This TRE will call for an increase in local property taxes of $.13 per $100 in property valuation here in Hutto, Texas.

A Hutto Hippo (Photo: mcdlttx / Flickr)

The Hutto Independent School District (HISD) has already approved a $1.25 million budget cut for the coming 2012-2013 school year, as detailed here. This TRE would roll back a large portion of those cuts and secure current levels of funding for the coming 5 years.

Texas has faced some intense challenges in weathering the stormy economic climate of the past 5 years. Texas has no income tax, so revenue is largely derived from sales taxes and property taxes. Property taxes were cut in the past decade to attract businesses to the state in hopes of generating increased revenue. As the economy has slumped, property values have fallen, resulting in decreasing revenue even as the state’s population grows. High growth areas such as Hutto have been especially adversely affected. The decline in home-ownership and the reduction in business expansion have left local municipalities facing tough decisions.

Texas’s State Constitution includes a directive that the state cannot run a deficit. With this verbiage in our laws the state lawmakers must balance the budget every year. This has resulted in cuts statewide to a number of projects and services, including massive cuts to public school funding.

In 2011, Governor Perry passed a $4 billion budget cut aimed specifically at our public schools. This resulted in the loss of 900 jobs in the early months of the 2011-2012 school year. The cuts were calculated at $537 per student and were the first cuts to per-student spending since World War II.

Texas is not alone in these struggles. Many of our states are facing similar shortfalls.

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