AUSTIN, Texas — Election Day is fast approaching, and Texans have already started casting their ballots since the early voting period began on Monday. 

When many Austin residents take to the polls in the coming days, they will notice two propositions on their ballots, both called Proposition A, one at the county level and one from the Austin Independent School District.

These two propositions were passed by the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, respectively.

The county’s proposition was created to address the shortage of affordable child care in the area, while the school district’s proposition is for raising money for teacher salaries and other costs.

Here’s a breakdown of both propositions.

Travis County Proposition A

Earlier this year, the Children’s Funding Project Work Group–a coalition of elected officials and community groups–proposed putting this proposition on the ballot to create more affordable child care options in Travis County. 

A University of Texas survey found that, on average, the cost of full-day child care for the year would come with an over $13,000 price tag. 

Currently, more than 5,100 children in Travis County are on the waiting list for subsidized child care, with an estimated wait time of two years. 

Ballot language: “Approving the ad valorem tax rate of $0.344445 per $100 valuation in County of Travis for the current year, a rate that is $0.025 higher per $100 valuation than the voter-approval tax rate of County of Travis, for the purpose of increasing access to affordable and high-quality child care and afterschool/summer programming and related services for low-income families and developing and administering related workforce and economic development programs. Last year, the ad valorem tax rate in County of Travis was $0.304655 per $100 valuation.”

But what does that mean for the average homeowner? 

If Prop A passes, the average homeowner–estimated to own a home worth a little over $503,000–can expect a $126 tax increase per year. Renters will likely see their rents increase to pay for the added costs. 

The county has a property tax impact calculator on its website to help residents estimate how much this increase, if passed, will affect their property taxes. 

The 2.5-cent tax rate increase is expected to bring in about $75.8 million.

According to the county’s fact sheet, the money generated from the tax increase will create nearly 1,900 new child care slots for children ages 0-3 from low-income households and create nearly 3,900 new after-school and summer programming slots for school-age children. 

The county also plans on increasing the “quality and capacity” of its child care and after-school programming, and if the proposition passes, residents could see the new slots available as early as next fall. 

What voting “for” Proposition A means: You approve of the approximately 2.5-cent property tax rate increase. 

What voting “against” Proposition A means: You are opposed to the proposed tax rate increase. If the proposition fails, the county’s current system will remain in place with no expansion, and the county property tax rate remains the same as last year. 

Austin ISD Proposition A 

The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to put Proposition A on the ballot back in August.

The district says this ballot measure came about because the Texas Legislature did not increase public school funding in its past legislative sessions.

Public schools in Texas receive most of their state funding through attendance in what is called a basic allotment–which is set at $6,160 per student and has remained at that number since 2019. 

According to Raise Your Hand Texas, the Lone Star State ranks in the bottom 10 states for per-student funding, about $4,000 behind the national average in per-student spending. 

Last year, Austin ISD reported a budget shortfall of $52 million, and it estimates that 86% of its general fund goes toward paying teachers and staff. 

Ballot language: “Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.9505 per $100 valuation in the Austin Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 8.3 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $184,628,049.”

What does that mean for the average property taxpayer?

The average Austin ISD homeowner–who has an estimated home value of over $553,000–would see an increase of about $412 a year in their property taxes. Homeowners with an over-65 exemption would not be affected. Renters will also likely see an increase in rents to offset the tax costs. 

If approved, the tax rate increase will generate about $171 million per year, but only $41 million of it will go directly to Austin ISD because of recapture. 

Texas’ recapture program, known as “Robin Hood,” takes money from school districts with higher property values and gives it to poorer school districts that can’t raise much money. 

If Prop A passes, Austin ISD says it plans to spend about $17.8 million on a compensation plan, with approximately 85% of its staff receiving some sort of pay increase. 

What voting “for” Proposition A means: You approve of the district’s property tax rate increase.

What voting “against” Proposition A means: You oppose the proposed tax rate increase, and the local property tax rate would stay the same as last year. 

Opponents of Proposition A say it will not fix the district’s budget problems. Former Austin ISD Board of Trustee President Kendall Pace posted a letter on X, formerly Twitter, signed by himself and nine other former board members opposing the ballot measure.

“The district may be on the brink of financial exigency without a major shift in funding streams, but this proposed tax rate increase won’t fix the problems, and it also comes without any significant operational reductions at the district, at a very high expense to taxpayers, and with minimal benefit to students, the district, or public education as a whole,” Pace’s post said. 

Only one current member of the Board of Trustees voted against putting Prop A on the ballot, Trustee Kevin Foster. He argued that the state should be giving more money toward public education, not the taxpayers.