(Seguin) — This week’s Saturday Topic program on radio station KWED takes a look at an important issue on the November 3 ballot for Seguin ISD voters and introduces listeners to a stage production coming soon to the Texas Theatre.
Part one of our program features a conversation with Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee and the district’s chief financial officer, Liz Banks. The pair will discuss the Voter-Approval Tax Ratification Election, or VATRE, that will appear on the local ballot. Lee says the measure is listed as a tax increase on the ballot, but the district’s total tax rate would stay the same. That might be confusing to some voters, and Lee says that’s why district officials are working to explain the facts behind the proposal and the complexities of public school finance in Texas.
“The only way that you can really explain it is to dive a little bit deeper into school finance. And let’s be honest, school finance is intentionally complicated.
The state, I think if you talk to state legislators, they will also tell you that it’s intentionally complicated in an effort to try to make it as equitable as possible for school districts across the state,” said Lee.
If approved, the VATRE would allow the district to shift two cents from its debt service tax rate to its maintenance and operations tax rate, leaving the total rate unchanged.
“Our total tax rate is actually made-up of two different rates. We have our first rate, the maintenance and operations or M&O, which is how we operate the district, how we pay for anything from salaries to supplies to the electric bill, (and) any of those types of things. Then we have what’s called an I&S rate, which is the interest and sinking, that is purely to pay debt that has been approved by voters through bond elections resulting in construction or capital improvement projects, things like that. Those two rates make up the total tax rate for the school district. So, when we talk about our total tax rate not changing, it’s not. The total tax rate for Seguin ISD the past two years, (and) this year included as the third year, has been $1.0828, and it’s made-up of a combination of those two rates. It will remain at that $1.0828 as a result of us trying to do the best we can to not put more requirements on the taxpayers here in Seguin ISD,” said Lee.
Shifting those two pennies may not seem like a big deal, but Lee explains that it would bring a significant amount of additional state funding to the district. Without voter approval, that additional money would not be available to the district.
“What we’re essentially doing is, we’re looking at moving two cents from our I&S rate so that would go from 40 and a half cents to 38 and a half cents, and our M&O rate going from 67.78 cents to 69.78 cents, and our total tax rate stays the same essentially. But by doing so, we maximize about a million and a half more dollars in state funding,” said Lee.
Lee and Banks will try to answer questions voters may have about the VATRE. They say the conversation is not designed to persuade voters one way or another. Instead, they want to provide factual information so people can make an informed decision when they head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3.
Part two of our program features a conversation with our friends from the Texas Theatre about their upcoming production of “Wait Until Dark.” It’s a classic thriller that arrives just in time for the Halloween season. Performances will be held each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from October 23 through November 1 at the Texas Theatre. Tickets are available now at thetexas.org.
Pat Hoppe, Greg Dew and Dawn Wright-Calvert will join us to preview the show and explain why they think audiences will enjoy its immersive experience. Hoppe says the lead character is blind, and audience members will also have their senses tested during portions of the show.
“It’s a mystery. It was a movie a long time ago. And now the play is just a little bit different from the movie, if you’ve ever seen that. The play is really interesting. It has all the things that you might want in a mystery. It has a leading lady. It has bad men who are there. It has a sassy little neighbor upstairs. It has all sorts of things, and it’s scary. Part of it takes place in the dark, because she is blind and so she has to figure out a way to save her life from these bad characters,” said Hoppe.
You can hear both conversations on Saturday Topic this weekend. Our discussion about the VATRE begins at 8 a.m., followed by the discussion about the play at approximately 8:45 a.m. Listen on AM 1580 KWED or stream the program at seguintoday.com. You can also listen live on any Alexa-enabled device by saying, “Alexa, play KWED Radio.”