2025 VATRE

Our Kilgore Community has two tax rates that, when added together, comprise the KISD total tax rate.

• The M&O tax rate raises funding for everyday school district operations, including staff salaries and benefits, student books and technology, recurring building maintenance, student activities, school buses, and campus utilities. 
• In contrast, the I&S fund is similar to a home mortgage; it can only be used to pay the debt from previously voter-approved bonds, which our community passed for new construction, capital improvements, and renovations to our school buildings. 
• These two taxes are added together to create the Kilgore ISD Total Tax Rate of $1.1551

 

Over the past several years, public schools in Texas have faced growing financial pressures, including rising operational costs, stagnant state school funding, and increasing demands on educational programs and services. As a result, more than 100 school districts across Texas have called for VATRE elections to secure additional state and local funding. Because Kilgore ISD faces these same challenges, our School Board of Trustees has joined these districts in taking a proactive step to maximize available funding for our schools, our students, our staff, and our classrooms.  

 

If approved, the Kilgore ISD School Board of Trustees will be able to restructure the Total Tax by shifting this $0.05 from their I&S rate to their M&O rate…keeping the same total tax rate., which can only be received with the approval of the upcoming VATRE, will be added to the KIlgore ISD M&O Tax Rate resulting in new, additional, $2.4 million in school funding.  This new funding will…

• Create an estimated $1.7 million dollars more in state funding and an estimated $706,913 more in local funding…$2.4 million increased available funding for Kilgore ISD
• Help Kilgore ISD offset reduced and decreasing state funding levels
• Be used to support campus classrooms
• Fund teacher and staff member salaries and benefits
• Expand student learning programs  
• Keep the same Total Tax Rate for our Kilgore ISD Community as in 2023 and 2024 at $1.1551

If this VATRE is not approved, Kilgore ISD will not receive the additional $2.4 million in school funding.

KISD community voters will see several items on their November 4th ballot.  First, our community voters will see seventeen (17) state proposition items on their ballot.  Then, as the last item of their ballot, they will see KILGORE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT - VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE ELECTION - PROPOSITION A - THIS IS A TAX RATE INCREASE

• Per state law requirements, the VATRE election ONLY pertains to the M&O tax rate.  Therefore, only the increase of $706,913 in local funding will be written on the ballot
• BUT… even though the ballot will NOT say anything about the I&S tax rate, please remember that the KISD School Board has already unanimously approved a resolution to also restructure the Interest & Sinking (I&S) Tax rate by $0.05…thereby keeping the Total Tax Rate unchanged for our community.

 

Traditionally, the M&O tax rate for all public schools in Texas was set/approved by their local community.  Then, in 2018, the state of Texas passed a new law that allows the state to “compress” a school district’s M&O rate.  So the MCR is a school district’s compressed M&O rate assigned by the state of Texas.  Traditionally, Kilgore ISD had an M&O rate of $1.04…but since the beginning of MCR, Kilgore ISD’s M&O rate has been continually “compressed”.  Please see below…

 

Kilgore ISD actually has one of the lowest M&O tax rates as compared to the district’s the Texas Education Agency compares us to…and because of this lower tax rate, KISD receives LESS funding per student when compared to our peer districts.

 

GREGG COUNTY

10/20/25

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10/31/25

RUSK COUNTY

10/20/25

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10/31/25

Due to upgrades being made to the voter registration database from the state, we will post Rusk County early voting results when available.

Efficiency Audit

Notice of VATRE Election

Notice of VATRE Election_Spanish

Gregg County Sample Ballot

Rusk County Sample Ballot