House Bill 3, passed during the last legislative session, required FDISD to conduct a special election for Excess Revenue to be paid back to the state. State calculations using local property values, enrollment and attendance, and other state revenue funds placed FDISD into the "rich" Chapter 49 status, requiring a certain amount of locally collected taxes to be sent back to the state at the end of each school year. This special election was originally scheduled for May 2, 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the election to be postponed and rescheduled for May 1, 2021. The order for the election will be published on April 8 and April 15. It is important for voters in FDISD to understand that this election is not an action that FDISD wanted to take. This action is being mandated upon us by TEA and the Texas Legislature.
If this election passes, then the district simply sends these calculated excess revenues back to the state at the end of each school year. No other elections would be necessary. The amount of funds sent back to the state would be dependent upon several intricate calculations each year. This is the most favorable option for our school district and our taxpayers, allowing our taxpayers to continue to support our children locally.
If this election fails, however, then the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency would select certain property(s) located within FDISD for detachment to a totally different school district elsewhere in the state. That means that some taxpayers would be paying county taxes to Jeff Davis County and school taxes to some other school district in the state....possibly East Texas, the Panhandle, or South Texas. Neither FDISD, nor the local taxpayer(s), would have any choice on the detachment. This detachment process could, conceivably, continue to happen every year until such an election is successful. Elections cost money. FDISD strives to be good stewards of our taxpayer money, and election expenses are not something we like to see. This election, while not what we wanted, is critical for our taxpayers. You must understand the consequences of a failure to pass this election item.
FDISD has scheduled two community Q&A events regarding this excess revenue election, as well as opportunities for community members to attend our regularly scheduled board meeting on April 12. The two Q&A events are scheduled for Thursday, April 8, and Thursday, April 15, at 6 pm, in the high school auditorium.
Early voting begins on Monday, April 19, 2021, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm each weekday. The last day of early voting is Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Election day is Saturday, May 1, 2021. All voting will take place in the FDISD Administration Building.
Feel free to contact the Superintendent's office for more information.