Jim Vasquez, superintendent of Socorro Independent School District, told the Socorro City Council on Oct. 2 that Proposition A, the district’s voter-approval tax-rate election on the November ballot, would reassign 12 cents within the school tax rate to support day-to-day operations, technology replacement and facility maintenance.

Vasquez said the measure would raise the maintenance-and-operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate from 66 cents to 78 cents per $100 of taxable value and reduce the interest-and-sinking (I&S) portion from 39 cents to 27 cents; the district’s total tax rate would remain $1.05 per $100 of valuation. "It’s not for me to decide, or it’s not for the board to decide, it’s for the voters to decide whether we can raise this tax rate," Vasquez said during his presentation.

Why it matters: Vasquez described a multi-year budget decline that left the district with a lower fund balance and temporary borrowing. He said enrollment fell after peaking at about 48,000 students in 2023 and that the district reduced positions and sought short-term loans. Vasquez said the district’s reserve has fallen to the equivalent of about 17 days of operating cash and that district policy aims for roughly 75 days of reserves.

Details the district presented: Vasquez said the district took two short-term loans of $25 million and $35 million and paid about $1.5 million in interest. He described two portions of the tax rate: I&S, which pays debt service (the district’s 2017 bond was cited as secured by I&S), and M&O, which pays salaries, utilities, supplies and other daily operations. He detailed how the state-share mechanism works for the district: Vasquez said each so‑called "golden penny" would bring in roughly $7.7 million for the district, about $6.2 million of which comes from the state and about $1.5 million from local taxpayers; he said each "copper penny" brings in about $3 million.

Vasquez said Proposition A would spend revenues on replenishing reserves, replacing aging classroom technology purchased during the pandemic and starting a sustained plan for HVAC and other deferred maintenance. He warned that if voters do not approve the measure, the district faces continued budget strain that could lead to program reductions, staff reductions or repeated short-term borrowing.

Council response and context: Council members and local educators voiced support and discussed public education and outreach. A council member who identified themself as an assistant principal in SISD said, "I am 100% on board," and urged civic education to explain how the ballot language reads. Mayor Cruz encouraged the council to help the district educate voters, noting that the ballot wording may appear to describe a tax increase even when the district is reallocating cents within the existing total rate. Vasquez pointed to other statewide ballot measures on the same ballot (identified as Proposition 11 and Proposition 13 in his remarks) and noted that, depending on outcomes, homeowners could see different net effects from multiple ballot items.

What remains unresolved: The council did not take a formal action on the presentation; Vasquez asked for questions and outlined early voting and registration deadlines. No official municipal endorsement or coordinated campaign was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Sources and attribution: Presentation remarks and figures are drawn from Jim Vasquez’s presentation to council on Oct. 2, 2025, and follow-up comments by council members in that same meeting.