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Texas Voters Accept VATREs — But Local Politicians Expose Themselves

Michael Pipkins
VATRE's Pass all over Texas

VATRE's Pass all over Texas


In a wave of school-district elections across North Texas and beyond this week, voters approved a number of Voter-Approval Tax-Ratification Elections (VATREs) — allowing independent school districts to raise their maintenance-and-operations (M&O) tax rates above the state-determined caps.

While the results reflect a clear willingness by taxpayers to fund local schools, they also expose a troubling pattern: the very officials who champion themselves as conservative guardians of the public trust now appear to be embracing tax increases and new spending. Pipkins Reports has been taking notes and when those elections come to pass, we will be reminding voters which politicians had their hands deep into taxpayers pockets.

Below is a summary of the key VATRE outcomes, followed by a discussion of the political implications and which public officials are already showing up in voters’ crosshairs.

VATREs That Passed – What Voters Approved

Here are the key districts where VATREs passed, with what was on the line and what the approval means.

VATREs That Did Not Pass – Rejections

What This Means — And What We Are Watching

From a constitutional conservative vantage point, several observations emerge:

  1. The Positive Side: Voters in many districts clearly were willing to approve higher taxes to fund education operations rather than just bond debt. That responsiveness suggests local communities see a need and are willing to step up.
  2. Inflation Predicted: These tax increases are ongoing revenue commitments. They are not one-time bonds, but continuous operational funding. Once the tax rate is increased, there is no mechanism to ever lower it back down. It is essentially eternal.
  3. Political Accountability: Many board members, superintendents, and district trustees who positioned themselves as fiscally prudent or conservative were seen as leading the charge for higher taxes. That reveals a mismatch between rhetoric and reality. The same goes for councilmen and mayors who chose to side with an increase in taxes. Excuses of, “It’s for the children” or “It’s for the teachers” will fall on deaf ears in future elections.
  4. The Power Players to Note:
    • In Garland ISD, the Board of Trustees and district leadership backed the 12-cent rate hike that will bring in ~$56 m annually. Voters and watchdogs (including us) will remember who voted for that.
    • Rockwall ISD’s trustees, various Rockwall County Mayors, nudged voters into approving a rate increase while trying to pretend they were ‘neutral’ . But we see them for who they are, and we will remind voters in future elections.
    • In Denton, HEB, Carroll, Peaster and Liberty Hill, local boards quietly advanced VATREs — again with minimal fanfare but major tax implications. We were watching. Changes will be made.
  5. The Contrast With Other Districts: Some districts rejected VATREs. Others such as Fair Independent School District, recently adopted lower tax rates for 2025-26 — a rarity worth highlighting.
  6. The Election Implications: For the upcoming school-board races and local council elections (many of which overlap with these districts), voters will evaluate not only candidates’ rhetorical conservatism but their tax-and-spending votes. At Pipkins Reports, we’ll publish scorecards of who supported VATREs and how their financing stacks up. We WILL do our part to inform the community and help remove the frauds in our local governments.

Conclusion: Clarity.

Texans are willing to support public education funding…for now. The approval of several VATREs around the state sends a signal: yes, we the taxpayers will step up — but what is going to happen in the next 2-3 years when taxpayers are hit with a huge dose of reality that the promised “insignificant” raise to fund teachers and students turns into a gigantic financial burden, on the order of thousands of dollars a year?

The real-world effects of all the VATRE’s cannot be hidden. The platitudes given during this campaign will soon sink to the bottom of the reality jar. The betrayal citizens will feel when election time comes back around will be immense … and we will be here to remind them of whom it was that put them in that position.

See you at the next election in May … thank you for your cooperation.



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