Former Richardson Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Tony Harkleroad helped the district navigate funding cuts and secure hundreds of millions in bond money during his 16 years with the district.

But in the 2018 midterms, Harkleroad planted a “Vote No” sign in his front yard in opposition to the school district’s proposed 13-cent tax hike, The Dallas Morning News reports.

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School district officials contend the max rate increase is fueled by Texas’ complicated and outdated school funding formula, which bases money sent to schools in part on local property tax revenues. The higher the local taxes, the less districts receive from the state. But Harkleroad argued a budget miscalculation as the main driver behind the push for more tax money and criticized the district’s current spending as “unsustainable.”

“They really put the taxpayer in the box,” Harkleroad said.

“My kids went through Richardson schools all the way. I worked there for 25 years. I am a big supporter. I just don’t support this” tax ratification election, he said. “And I don’t think those things are mutually exclusive.”

“I’ve been going through the data, and it just doesn’t sit right with me,” Harkleroad told the Lake Highlands Advocate. “I’m going to vote against it.”

During the last fiscal year, Richardson ISD used more than $6 million in reserves for operating expenses and raises for teachers and staff. For a single-family home with a market value of more than $325,000, the tax increase would cost about $348 in additional taxes next year. School officials threatened to increase class sizes, reduce course offerings and freeze hiring if taxpayers rejected the measure, according to the Morning News.

School board president Justin Bono said Harkleroad’s financial management “served the district very well for a long, long time” but alleged the district simply needs more funding to maintain operations.

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“We’ve gone as far as we can as a district and can no longer continue forward,” he said.

Harkleroad countered the district’s money managers could have taken action earlier to mitigate the financial problems, but instead adopted a deficit budget because they overestimated tax revenues from elderly residents.

District CFO David Pete confirmed the mistake, which Harkleroad said pushed the tax increase needed from a modest 4 or 5 cents to the maximum of 13 cents.

“We’re trying to guess how many new people are turning 65 during the year, people that are going off the rolls because they no longer own the property,” Pete said. “And, yes, we didn’t estimate quite high enough on that originally and brought it to the board’s attention.”

Harkleroad said finance officials were essentially “budgeting the lag” by factoring in money from the state they couldn’t count on the next year.

“Anyone that’s in the business knows that is a very, very slippery slope,” he said.

Regardless, 53.45 percent of voters approved the tax hike on Election Day. Bono cheered the “gratifying” outcome, a financial windfall the district plans to spend on teacher and staff raises, additional safety and security staff, and “adjusted hourly wages” for custodians and paraprofessionals, Community Impact reports.

“Our board and administration are excited to activate the initiatives in our budget that were contingent upon passage of this measure,” Bono said. “The additional funds generated as a result of today’s outcome will allow the district to take a big step forward in service to our students and families.”

Harkleroad and members of the Vote No Political Action Committee who opposed the measure aren’t so sure.

“The school board works tirelessly and is unpaid, but people who have worked against this vote have also worked tirelessly,” PAC member Euan Blackman told Community Impact. “They are the unsung heroes that don’t have the word ‘trustee’ before their name but gave their blood, sweat and tears to hold (the school board) accountable and do this for the community.”