Voters across Schertz, Cibolo and Universal City will decide next month whether to raise Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD's annual tax rate by 12 cents per $100 of taxable property value, a measure district leaders say is needed to close an anticipated $8 million deficit, protect student programs and raise staff pay. It is the second consecutive year the district has asked voters to approve additional tax revenue, after a similar measure failed previously.
A Second Attempt After Last Year's Defeat
SCUC ISD Superintendent Paige Meloni believes last year's measure failed in part because voters lacked a clear explanation of how the money would be used, according to KSAT. This year's ballot language spells out the measure's purpose, and Meloni said legal guidance allowed the district to describe it on the ballot as funding for staff and student programs, per the same report. The SCUC ISD Board of Trustees voted on Aug. 17 to call the Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, or VATRE, for Nov. 3, according to SCUC ISD.
Meloni has pointed to rising costs over several years as the strain behind the district's budget, attributing it to double-digit inflation over the past five years and noting that insurance and fuel prices have skyrocketed, as have costs in staff members' own homes, per KSAT's reporting. The district's own VATRE materials echo that pressure, noting the Consumer Price Index has risen more than 27 percent since 2019 while the state's basic student allotment has grown by less than 1 percent over the same period, according to the district's VATRE information page.
What's on the Table: $15.1 Million, Split Between Local and State Dollars
If approved, the VATRE would generate an estimated $15.1 million in additional annual funding, with $8.2 million coming from local property taxes and triggering another $6.9 million in state funding, per the district's VATRE site. The money would support employee pay and student programs, including efforts to preserve fine arts, career and technical education, and athletics, the same materials state. The measure would fund the district's day-to-day operating budget and would not create new debt.
Without the additional revenue, SCUC ISD says it would face a deficit of more than $8 million for the 2026-27 school year. The district had already built $6 million in savings into its 2026-27 budget, trimming what it says was a potential $14 million deficit down to the current $8 million projection, according to the VATRE page. Meloni has said that if the measure fails, the district would have to consider program cuts, with potential effects on fine arts, athletics, career and technical education, and classroom instruction, per KSAT.
What It Would Cost Homeowners
The tax increase would cost an estimated $15 per month for a home with a taxable value of $150,000, and $20 per month for a home valued at $200,000, according to KSAT's reporting. The district's own estimate puts the average impact at roughly $212 per year, or about $17.65 per month, for an average SCUC ISD home, per the VATRE site. Separately, the district has cited a rounder figure of about $18 per month for an average homeowner with a taxable value of $177,335, according to SCUC ISD's announcement of the election. Homeowners age 65 or older with a frozen residence-homestead tax ceiling would not see an increase in that frozen amount because of the VATRE, unless significant improvements are made to the homestead, per SCUC ISD.
Teacher Pay and the Regional Backdrop
The school board has approved a compensation plan that would provide a one-time payment to all staff in December if revenue becomes available for the 2026-27 school year, and the district could raise starting teacher pay the following year if the measure passes, according to KSAT. SCUC ISD's current starting teacher salary is $56,500 a year, which Meloni has said falls below surrounding districts; she has said she would traditionally advocate for raises in the 2% to 4% range. District officials have also said a VATRE would increase the likelihood of staff raises across the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years, according to Community Impact, which also reported officials framing the request as a proactive move to avoid future program cuts.
SCUC ISD is far from alone in seeking more revenue this cycle. At least five San Antonio-area school districts are asking voters for additional tax revenue this November, and nearly all of them cite budget deficits driven by rising costs and state limits on school funding and tax collection, according to the San Antonio Report. East Central ISD is asking voters to approve a tax-rate increase of less than a penny to cover staff raises, safety measures and student programs, a measure it estimates would generate $8.5 million annually and which the district says it needs to avoid an $8.5 million deficit if it fails, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Northside ISD, meanwhile, is seeking a three-cent increase projected to raise about $45.5 million a year to support a compensation plan that includes a 2% staff pay increase, per the same report.
State lawmakers increased base student funding by $55 per student during the 2025 legislative session, but increased homestead exemptions have also reduced the local property value school districts can tax, leaving most Bexar County districts with lower local tax revenue, according to the San Antonio Report. SCUC ISD ranks 989th out of 1,019 school districts statewide in revenue per student, per the district's VATRE materials. Regionally, starting teacher pay varies widely: Del Valle ISD offers the highest announced starting salary at $60,000 for 2026-27, while Liberty Hill ISD raised its starting pay 4.4% to $58,500 and Llano ISD posted the largest percentage increase, 5.9%, to $54,000, according to KXAN.
Key Dates for Voters
The last day to register to vote in the election was Oct. 5, according to SCUC ISD's announcement. Early voting runs through Oct. 30, with Election Day set for Nov. 3, according to KSAT's reporting.
