Argyle ISD's 2024 School Funding Vote Failed. Here's What Happened — and What Came Next.

If you pay property taxes in the Argyle ISD boundaries, a funding question that touched teacher pay and classroom sizes was put to you in fall 2024. Voters said no. Here is what that meant then, and where things stand now.

The measure was a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election, or VATRE — the mechanism Texas law requires when a school district wants to raise its maintenance-and-operations tax rate above a state-set ceiling. Argyle ISD's board voted unanimously to place the referendum on the November 5 ballot. The ask: an increase to the M&O tax rate that would have let the district keep funds for teacher and staff raises, additional campus support positions, and holding class-size ratios where they were.

Before the vote, Superintendent Dr. Courtney Carpenter and CFO Liz Stewart took the case to more than a dozen community sessions through mid-October 2024. Locations ranged from the Argyle West Elementary cafeteria on Old Justin Road to Marty B's Ice Cream in Bartonville to the Argyle High School auditorium. Every corner of the district got a chance to show up and ask questions.

Then came November 5. Final results: 5,244 in favor, 6,961 opposed. About 43% yes, 57% no. The measure failed. Carpenter said the district would shift its focus to state legislators for increased funding.

That was not the end of the district's ballot activity. Argyle ISD voters approved a $423 million bond package covering land acquisition, new school construction, and campus improvements tied to projected enrollment growth. That bond covers land acquisition, new school construction, and campus improvements. It draws from a different pot entirely: bond dollars pay for buildings and capital projects, not daily operations. The VATRE would have funded the operational side — staff pay, classroom ratios, day-to-day costs.

The gap the 2024 VATRE was designed to close was not filled through that election. If you want to review what was proposed, the full archive of referendum materials — presentations, a tax impact calculator, FAQ pages — is at argyleisd.com.