The EPISD board of trustees will ask us at the next election to authorize lowering their interest and sinking fund tax rate by ten cents and increase their maintenance and operation tax rate by an equal amount.
They want us to believe that this move will not cost us anything.
They also point out that doing what they ask will bring in an additional $7.5 million from the state. They don’t tell us if the extra money will come to us every year or if the $7.5 million is a one-time deal.
No cost
The board tells us that voting for this will not cost us any money.
That is simply not true. The school district has debt that must be paid off using the interest and sinking fund.
The district has not told us that the $7.5 million will be applied to reducing debt obligations. In fact they have told us that the money will be used to pay a one time stipend to the teachers and to increase the district’s fund balance.
Taking ten cents out of the interest and sinking fund rate will slow down their debt payments–a process that will cost us interest money.
Also they are not reminding us that they are in the process of issuing over $660 million in bonds that will need to be paid from the interest and sinking fund.
How can they do that when they are lowing the debt rate by 10 cents?
How can they do that?
It’s simple, they can’t.
Watch out next year and see how they raise the debt rate.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Brutus, they actually did state it on several occasions that it is NOT a one time thing. They get that amount every year until they change it again.
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Just lie, deny., deceive the TAXPAYERS as usual. Just one big corrupt, criminal empire. FBI, Texas Attorney General need to each, open an office at the EPISD headquarters. Tax, waste, spend, tax some more, nothing ever changes with those people.
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The “penny-swap” lasts forever but the bonus given to teachers (not custodians, bus drivers, counselors, or administrators) will be a one time payment of $750. A long term adjustment for a short term goal? This would appear to be a logical loose end that they need to tie up in their story but I don’ think they are sweating the details. Cabrera is counting on one thing; the fact that teacher votes can usually be bought and if the teachers back the “penny-swap” it will pass. It will be seen if a one-time $750 gratuity is enough to buy their votes this time. If I was a teacher I would hold out for a $750 raise, not a bonus. Teachers in other states are raising hell about low wages but Cabrera seems confident that ours can be bought fairly cheaply.
I will say this, if the vote fails things will start to get ugly for the super very quickly. The election is a vote of confidence in EPISD leadership. If the vote fails the board members will distance themselves from the Super ASAP (well, maybe not Hatch and the west-siders, but others will get off the fence promptly!).
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