School Finance

TTARA was the first business organization to recognize the need to monitor the relationship between local property tax levies and the funding formulas used to distribute money to the state’s 1,018 independent school districts and other education providers. TTARA maintains a consistent focus on school finance policies because of the significant impact they have on business and other taxpayers.

TTARA monitors legal and legislative developments in school finance and keeps its members informed about their impact on local school district funding and property tax levies. TTARA is unique among business organizations because of its ability to collect and analyze school finance data, which has enabled its membership to have a tremendous impact on policy decisions. TTARA was first to alert its members about the financial impact that businesses would experience when the Houston Independent School District became subject to state recapture in 2017. This expertise and responsiveness to school finance issues make TTARA invaluable to the business community and state policymakers.

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Should We Eliminate Local Property Taxes?

Careful considerations must be applied before embarking on any effort to replace local property taxes with another tax.

Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections (VATRE)

School boards are required to adopt a budget and tax rate to finance that budget each year. As part of that process, the school board is required to calculate a “voter-approval tax rate” (previously known as the “rollback” rate).

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas – Sixth Edition

New version includes updates from the 88^th Legislature.

Who Benefits from the 2023 Property Tax Relief?

The tax relief package passed by the 88th Legislature and approved by voters on November 7, 2023, delivered a great deal of school district property tax relief as promised. However, most of that property tax relief was realized by homeowners and has set Texas on a course of taxing residential and business property unequally.

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas – Fifth Edition Revised March 2022

Incorporates changes made by HB 3, 86th Legislature and HB 1525, 87th Legislature

All Policy Areas

Wrap-Up for the 87th Legislature Tax and Fiscal Policy

By all accounts, it was to be a modestly productive legislative session. When lawmakers convened in January, Texas and the nation were in the grips of a horrendous pandemic that would ultimately take the lives of well over half a million Americans.

All Policy Areas

Wrap-Up for the 87th Legislature School Finance & Public Education

There is virtually unanimous agreement among legislators that HB 3 by Huberty (R-Humble), the school finance overhaul bill passed by the 86th Legislature in 2019, was the most meaningful school finance bill in decades.

School District Tax Rate Compression and Tax Ratification Elections

HB 3 passed by the 86th Legislature mandated that school districts reduce maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rates in the years to come

HB 3 by Huberty: A True School Finance Overhaul

An extraordinary thing happened on the way to the 86th legislative session. Due to the creation of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance by the 85th Legislature

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas – Fourth Edition, Revised February 2018

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas - Fourth Edition, Revised February 2018

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas – Third Edition (Revised June 2014)

An Introduction to School Finance in Texas - Third Edition (Revised June 2014)

Multi-Tax & Other

TTARA At Work 2013

TTARA At Work 2013