Roll back election was automatically triggered when district approved tax rate in August during budget-setting process.

The Lake Travis school district today is asking voters to approve a 2-cent property tax rate increase.

When the school board approved its $79.5 million budget in August, board members also adopted the tax rate: $1.06 per $100 of assessed property value for maintenance and operations and $0.2759 for debt payments.

However, because the district will exceed the state-imposed cap of $1.04 for maintenance and operations, a so-called rollback election was automatically triggered, and voters must approve the higher amount. If voters reject the higher tax rate, the rate will roll back to $1.04 for maintenance and operations.

If voters approve the new rate, the owner of an average-value home of $298,904, after exemptions, will see a tax bill of $3,993.06. That's an increase of about $206.06, or about 6 percent more than last year.

The district will send nearly $30 million in property tax revenue to the state in the 2009-10 school year under state school finance law. But the district can keep the additional $1.2 million in revenue generated from the new rate.

District officials have said that the additional revenue is needed to meet increased costs caused by inflation and increased enrollment. The district has about 6,300 students.

In 2008, more than 70 school districts, including Austin, held rollback votes.