AUSTIN, Texas — UPDATE:

The Austin ISD Board of Directors approved the voter-approved tax rate election (VATRE) during its meeting Monday evening.

Now it’s up to voters whether to raise property taxes to reduce the district’s $119 million deficit.

This breaking news story will be updated.

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ORIGINAL STORY:

Tonight, the Austin Independent School District board will decide whether to ask voters in November for help with a budget deficit. The district currently has a $119 million deficit, and proponents of the voter-approved tax rate election (VATRE) are hoping voters can reduce that deficit.

The Austin ISD VATRE isn’t the only thing that would increase the tax burden on property owners. There’s also the newly approved city budget, which the city calculates will add an additional $358.18 per year to the average taxpayer through property taxes and service fees.

“I think it was very smart for at least one council member to point out that the citizens of the city of Austin are not only taxed by the city of Austin,” said Austin City Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly, who represents the 6th District, which includes parts of Austin ISD and Round Rock ISD, as well as Williamson and Travis counties. “I chose to go down the path of proposing a budget with no new revenue, which would have cut over $444 million from the budget, and the reason I wanted to do that is because I know those other taxing entities are a burden on taxpayers.”

Travis County also increased maintenance and operations taxes by 12.7 percent. The county website states that taxes on a $100,000 home will increase by $34.51. The average taxable value of a home in Travis County is just over $400,000.

ALSO: Importance of Austin ISD board’s VATRE vote put into perspective

But back to VATRE. Its supporters are desperate to reduce Austin ISD’s $119 million budget deficit. “This is absolutely necessary for the budget and the future of the district. With the state not funding public education, we are in a situation where we have to turn to VATRE to provide more resources for our children,” said Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin.

The district explains on its website that VATRE would increase property taxes by $34 per month, or $412 per year, for the average homeowner within the district’s boundaries. “Without passage of VATRE, we leave our fate to a governor and legislature that simply do not support public education,” Zarifis said.

However, when you add together the city, county and sales tax increases, the average homeowner will be paying $908.22 more, leaving voters to decide what is more important to them.

“I personally believe that all investments in our children’s education should stay in our community. That’s not a popular issue with state lawmakers, but it’s something I’d like to explore,” Kelly said.