The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to call a voter-approved tax ratification election (VATRE) that will be on the November 5 ballot. 

Registered voters residing within the GCISD boundaries will be asked to consider a three-cent increase to the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate that would generate approximately $6 million in funding for school district operations, including instruction, staff, transportation, maintenance, extracurricular activities and other daily operating expenses, excluding projects included in the recent bond.

The Voter-Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) will ask GCISD voters to consider a three-cent increase to the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate that would generate nearly $6 million in funding for school district operations.

The passage of the VATRE would result in nearly $6 million in funding for:

• Teachers and staff

• Instruction and student programs

• Daily operating expenses (utilities, maintenance, supplies)

The three-cent increase will be made of “golden pennies.” Tax funds collected through these pennies are not subject to recapture, meaning 100 percent of these funds remain in GCISD. This is unlike other portions of the M&O tax rate, which are subject to recapture (required by state law), which removes local property tax dollars from public school districts. An estimated 22 percent ($31.33 million) of GCISD’s M&O tax levy will be sent back to the state in the form of recapture for 2023-2024.

The GCISD Board of Trustees lowered the Interest & Sinking tax rate from $0.1957 to $0.1864. The Maintenance & Operations tax rate will increase from $0.7290 to $0.7369 with the passage of the VATRE. The new overall tax rate would be $0.9233, resulting in a $0.0014 lower overall tax rate from 2023.