Staff: recapture will shrink VADER net; district monitoring shows funding on target

District finance staff updated trustees on VADER modeling and recapture mechanics and said the district recently received required TEA approvals to finalize the modeling.

"Because the three remaining pennies are copper, we will only retain about 56% of every penny," staff said, explaining that recapture reduces the district's net revenue from a local property tax increase. Staff told the board preliminary modeling shows the current scenario would generate about $12 million of net revenue under the latest assumptions (after recapture), whereas trustees recalled the prior VADER modeling had estimated about $30 million net in an earlier cycle; staff said those earlier numbers reflected different recapture and valuation conditions.

Finance staff also reported a near‑term 'dipstick' enrollment check that puts current funding enrollment slightly above the budgeted estimate used in modeling; staff cautioned projections will continue to change until fall counts are finalized. Trustees asked staff to present a clear reconciliation next week: the gross revenue assumptions, recapture amounts, the district's net receipts, and a breakout of recurring versus one‑time uses for prior VADER proceeds.