TUSCOLA, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) - After seeing a shortage of funds for the first time in years, Jim Ned Consolidated School District is taking the solution to the polls for voters to decide with a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election, or VATRE.

The deficit last year was $1.5 million, and Hunter Cooley, Chief Financial Officer for the district, explained that to balance it out for the 2025-26 school year, the district is seeking a tax increase from 66 cents to 69 cents.

"The district was functioning at a deficit budget for the first time since I've been in the district over 20 years as CFO," Cooley said. "The $0.03 will actually be an increase. The net we're seeing for the average homeowner is still a decrease in taxes, the difference being about $49."

This change would require a VATRE, which aim

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