A guide to understanding Denton ISD’s proposed tax increase

Denton ISD leaders make no bones about Proposition A , the sole school district item on a beefy Nov. 4 ballot: It’s a 5-cent tax rate increase.

Denton ISD Superintendent Susannah O’Bara and Deputy Superintendent Jeremy Thompson, who oversees the district’s financial operations, were just as plain about the reason for taking the tax hike to voters: The district has already “pulled the other levers” to cut their expenses over three years of deficit budgets. This school year, Denton ISD is operating with a $15 million budget deficit.

It’s left 250 positions open. As teachers and administrators have retired or left the district, their jobs have gone unfilled. Some departments have been restructured, shuffling teachers and administrators into different posts, and most full-time district emp