China Spring ISD is committed to attracting and retaining exceptional teachers. Creative solutions, such as our 4-day instructional calendar, have helped improve teacher retention, with turnover declining from 19.9% in 2021–22 to 14.2% in 2023–24. While we are making progress, we remain, on average, $5,500 below the starting salaries offered by nearby districts, which impacts our ability to compete for qualified educators.
2025 Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election
China Spring ISD has called a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) to secure additional funding to support long-term operational goals and priorities. Specifically, with the additional funds, China Spring's goals are to recruit and retain quality teachers and staff, maintain manageable class sizes, and increase the budget to support daily operations.
Tax Rate Priorities
Recruitment & Retention
Recruiting and retaining quality teachers and staff.
If a VATRE is approved by voters, China Spring ISD will continue to focus on increasing teacher and staff salaries to establish competitive compensation.
Student Opportunity
Maintain manageable class sizes and student opportunity.
China Spring ISD will continue to focus on maintaining manageable class sizes to support student learning. With access to more funding, the district will continue to prioritize creating opportunities for student program and course offerings.
District Operations
Support daily district operations.
China Spring ISD will use the additional funding to support daily district operations, the costs of which have risen by approximately 14-19% due to inflation. With additional funding, the district can continue to fund school safety measures, classroom supplies and general maintenance of the school district.
Understanding the Ballot Language
Place an "X" beside the statement indicating the way you wish to vote.
___For
___Against
THIS IS A TAX INCREASE
Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $ .98192 in China Spring ISD for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 6.5% in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $2,164,622.
What are the issues?
Recruiting & Retaining Quality Teachers and Staff
Inflation of Costs
Since 2019, inflation has increased by more than approximately 25%, while school operating costs in Texas have risen by approximately 14-19%.
Stagnant Funding
The Texas Legislature funds every public school on a per-student basis. Through a formula, Texas sets the basic allotment. The basic allotment for Texas students has increased by $55 per student since 2019.
What has CSISD already done?
Intentional Staffing Decisions
As staff members leave China Spring ISD for new opportunities, the district takes time to carefully evaluate each position before deciding whether to refill it. Through attrition, the district has reduced teaching staff by four positions and administrative staff by three positions, saving the district approximately $494,000 for the last two years. In many cases, this means existing staff members have stepped up to take on additional responsibilities.
Creative Solutions to Recruit & Retain Quality Teachers and Staff
Even with limited funding, China Spring ISD is working to implement programs aimed at recruiting and retaining quality teachers:
Four-Day Instructional Week: Offers teachers time to balance teaching, planning and personal responsibilities.
Employee-Based Daycare: Provides affordable childcare for staff, helping teachers with young children stay in the profession.
National Board Certification Program: Supports teachers in earning advanced certification, making them eligible for additional pay through the Teacher Incentive Allotment Program.
Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA): Rewards effective educators with additional pay based on student and teacher performance.
Staffing Study
To make sure we are using our resources in the most effective way, China Spring ISD partnered with the Texas Association of School Boards to complete a staffing study. District leaders took this step to compare our staffing levels with similar-sized districts and to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students in a responsible and efficient way.
The study confirmed that China Spring ISD is not overstaffed, in fact, we are operating with fewer positions than many peer districts. As our student enrollment continues to grow, the study recommends adding staff in key areas to maintain the level of support our students and programs need. Planning ahead for this growth requires long-term, sustainable funding.
Operating Within Fixed Budgets
For the past four years, China Spring ISD has maintained the same operating budgets across all campuses and departments, even as the cost of goods and services has steadily increased. In the 2023–24 school year, the district proactively reduced every budget by 10% as part of our ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility. This means our teachers and staff have continued to deliver high-quality instruction and support while managing increased expenses for classroom supplies, materials and services. District leaders have remained committed to stretching every dollar and doing more with less, prioritizing student needs and instructional quality while being careful stewards of taxpayer funds.
Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election
Understanding the impact of 6¢.
Due to compression, the China Spring ISD school tax rate is decreasing by $0.09658 cents. That’s almost a 10 cent drop in school taxes from the 2024-25 school year.
The VATRE asks voters to approve a change to the M&O tax rate by 6¢ for district operations, which is 3.7¢ lower than last year's rate. If approved, it would generate more than $2 million in local funding for our schools.
If approved, the district will receive more than $2 million in funding for our schools, 56% of the funding provided by the state and 44% of funding generated from local tax payers.
Closing the Gap: Keeping Pace with Neighboring Districts
In Texas, school funding is based on a state formula, not how much local property tax revenue a district collects. When property values go up, the state sends less money, so schools don't actually get more funding. China Spring ISD currently has the lowest Maintenance & Operations (M&O) tax rate in the area and receives the lowest per-student funding of all McLennan County school districts.
Maintenance & Operations Tax Rates of McLennan County School Districts 2024
Per Pupil Operational Funding of McLennan County School Districts 2024
VATRE Information Meetings
In-Person Options:
Monday, August 25: 5:30 - 6:30 pm at the China Spring ISD Performing Arts Center - Register for this event
Tuesday, September 30: 6:00-7:00 pm at the China Spring ISD Administration Building - Register for this event
Virtual Options*:
Wednesday, September 10: 12:00-1:00 pm (virtual) - Register for this event
Tuesday, October 14: 5:30-6:30 pm (virtual) - Register for this event
*Each virtual event is limited to the first 90 participants. If sessions fill up, additional sessions may be added.
Open Q&A Event:
China Spring ISD administration team will be available to answer any final question you may have before voting on November 4. This event is designed as come-and-go, for community members to have final questions answered.
Wednesday, October 29: 12:00-1:00 pm (virtual)