Dear Round Rock ISD Community,
At the heart of every school are the people who show up each day to teach, support, guide and care for our students. Our teachers, campus staff, bus drivers, custodians, office teams, librarians, coaches and countless others make it possible for our schools to serve students well. Recruiting and retaining talented professionals is one of the district’s top priorities.
On Aug. 13, the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved calling a Voter Approved Tax Rate Election to increase teacher and staff compensation throughout the district.
If voters approve Proposition A on Nov. 3, the 2026 VATRE would add six copper pennies to the Maintenance & Operations tax rate, bringing the total tax rate to $0.9484 per $100 of valuation. This would allow the district to generate approximately $30 million in additional local revenue, while keeping our tax rate the second-lowest adopted rate in the region.
Why has Round Rock ISD called a VATRE? Round Rock ISD competes with neighboring districts for talented teachers and staff, and there is currently a national shortage of teachers. Competitive compensation is a central component of the district’s strategy to retain and attract high-quality professionals during this time.
If approved, these additional funds would support the following compensation initiatives:
Teachers: Increase the starting salary to $58,000
Professional campus support: Increase the starting salary to $58,000
Librarians: Increase the starting salary to $60,481
Athletic trainers: Increase the starting salary to $68,235
Specific hourly employee groups: Increase starting salaries for educational assistants to $17.25, office support to $17.25, custodians to $17 and bus assistants to $17.75
All other eligible employees: Provide an increase equal to 2% of the pay range midpoint and implement employee salary adjustment recommendations from the TASB Pay System Review to improve market competitiveness and address pay compression
These compensation changes are intended to address budget pressures the district has identified, including state mandates, salary compression, rising costs and the level of state funding.
Compensation is a significant factor in whether they are able to build long-term careers with the district. This VATRE is one way that the district is attempting to attract qualified educators and keep them within the district for their entire career.
An FAQ, tax impact and election information is available on our VATRE26 website. If you have questions about the VATRE, please send us a message.
Thank you for your continued support for our students, our staff and Round Rock ISD.