Property taxes, school financing and the games people play
I had a fervent chuckle when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently declared he couldn’t compromise with Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on how to best overhaul property tax legislation because “I do not negotiate on bad math.” Really? The last time Patrick displayed his math chops was during the 2020 presidential vote count. He missed the…
Read MoreTexas Senate committee OKs proposals to lower school taxes, increase state funding share
The Senate Finance committee this week approved a package of bills that could deliver $16.5 billion in property tax relief, including lowering how much Texans pay school districts, and forwarded the proposals to the full Senate for a vote.
Read MoreHow does public school funding work in Texas – and how would property tax relief affect it?
With the Texas Legislature set to tackle property taxes this year, the stations of the Texas Newsroom examine the state’s high rate: what led us here and what are some ways that taxpayers could see relief.
Read MoreHow would the proposed Texas budgets fund public education? Here’s what we know.
In their preliminary state budgets released Wednesday, the Texas Senate and House earmarked $72.5 billion for the Texas Education Agency, which oversees K-12 schools, and $15 billion in school property tax relief.
Read More$7M budget deficit for Hays CISD after low attendance from 2021-2022 school year
Like all other schools in Texas, the district is funded based on its average daily attendance rate and not by its enrollment. It’s something State Rep. Diego Bernal is trying to change. He filed HB 135 for the upcoming legislature. It seeks to replace attendance-based funding with enrollment-based
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