As Texas lawmakers began filing legislation for consideration next year, one state representative submitted a series of proposals to require more transparency and accountability from local government officials who impose property taxes. view article

Voters have approved Montgomery ISD's voter-approval tax rate election, according to Montgomery ISD's Communications Coordinator Stephanie Wells and unofficial results from Montgomery County. view article

The tax rate election would have resulted in a 4.7% increase in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year. This would have been an additional $4.5 million for the district. The unofficial results for the tax rate election were 14,220 votes for yes and 20,076 for no. view article

Results show the majority of Coppell ISD voters are in opposition to the Nov. 5 tax rate election. With all precincts reporting, results show that voters in opposition are in the lead, according to unofficial election results from the Dallas County Elections website. Residents have cast 10,544 votes in favor, or 45.51% of votes cast Residents have cast 12,626 votes against, or 54.49% of votes cast Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed. view article

Following the failure of Northwest ISD’s Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election from the Nov. 5 election, NISD officials will begin planning for class size changes for the 2025-26 school year. According to a district news release, the 3-cent increase in property taxes would have generated approximately $16 million in the district’s maintenance and operations budget. Funds from this budget are used, in part, to help retain and attract teachers while also preventing cuts to student programs. Potential changes may be in store for other operations, as well. view article

In a statement regarding the Nov. 5 election results, Magnolia Superintendent Jason Bullock said, "Although the VATRE did not pass, MISD remains committed to finding ways to pay competitive salaries and making decisions in the best interests of students and staff. We will continue to do this with fiscal responsibility as our goal and with an eye toward overcoming the financial challenges facing public schools in Texas." view article

Tax rate increase elections in two Houston-area school districts hoping to raise extra revenue were poised to fail late Tuesday, while two other districts remained too close to call, early votes show.  view article

Voters in Frenship ISD approved a voter-approved tax rate election and two bond packages. Proposition A passed with 52.6 percent of the vote, 14,282 to 12,864. Proposition A is a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election or VATRE. The district plans to increase what it collects to use for Maintenance and Operations, and decrease revenue for paying debt, or Interest and Sinking, resulting in a slightly lower rate overall. view article

Montgomery ISD voters passed Prop A on Election Day, marking the district’s first successful tax ratification election and securing $5.5 million for education. The measure will contribute $5.5 million annually to the district’s Maintenance & Operations budget, helping to address a previously adopted $4.3 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year. view article

Austin voters have approved a tax rate increase that will provide millions for the Austin Independent School District to use toward pay raises and savings. Proposition A will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner, according to AISD. The rate will increase by $0.091 to $0.9505, translating to about 9.1 cents for $100 of a property’s value. view article

In the Austin and Manor school districts, voters on Tuesday will decide whether to approve ballot propositions that call for higher tax rates than the local school boards are allowed to set without voter consent. view article

A new report has found that Texas ranks behind six other states in terms of tax system efficiency and competitiveness.  view article

Austin ISD voters are being asked to consider a tax increase that district officials say will fund teacher salary increases, operational costs and help offset a $119 million budget deficit.   view article

The Anthony Independent School District (AISD) is asking residents to vote for a tax rate increase that will make improvements to their schools. In August, the AISD Board approved placing a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) on the Nov. 5 ballot to raise money to fund some of these improvements. view article

Collin County residents can expect to pay the same property tax rate to Collin College for the 2024-25 fiscal year.  The gist: The college’s board of trustees unanimously approved a tax rate of $0.081220 per $100 valuation during an Aug. 27 board meeting. This is the third year in a row the college has operated at this tax rate, according to Collin County documents.  The tax rate is broken down into two pieces: view article

Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matias Segura on Tuesday responded to criticism of the district’s proposed tax increase, which would inject millions into the district for pay raises and savings. The district, facing a $119 million deficit, is asking voters starting this week to approve Prop A, a tax rate increase the district says will increase property taxes by more than $400 for the average homeowner. view article

Spring ISD residents will vote this election season on whether to raise property tax rates, which would allow the district to increase staff pay and nearly eliminate a projected budget deficit. The item on the ballot, known as a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election, would raise property taxes by 5 cents per $100 in property value, generating about $20 million in annual revenue for the district. view article

Houston's property taxes are not going up, after the state announced Wednesday that it would infuse $50 million in disaster relief funds to southeast Texas communities ravaged by the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl.  Houston City Council was set to debate the property tax increase at today's meeting, but a group of four city council members that supported raising the city's tax rate by 5 percent withdrew their proposal after hearing word that Houston would now receive help for storm cleanup. view article

The Huffman ISD Board of Trustees voted Tuesday morning to raise property taxes by one percent. That may come as a relief to many residents who packed today’s school board meeting, fearing their taxes could go up as much as 25 percent. Board of Trustees President Kirk Vaughn said it was never their intention to raise taxes by 25 percent, but when they posted the public notice about an upcoming vote, it included the maximum tax rate allowed, which is 25 percent. view article

The Huffman ISD Board of Trustees is set to vote Tuesday morning on raising property taxes by as much as 25%. The district says its meeting on raising rates, which will be held at 9 a.m., is to help with a budget shortfall and reportedly recent storm damage. Many residents in Huffman are concerned that the board is set to approve a tax increase. And according to state law, they can do it WITHOUT voter approval. view article

Austin school district voters on Nov. 5 will decide whether to approve raising the property tax rate by 9.1 cents, an increase that would generate $41 million in additional revenue for Austin schools during a time when districts across the state have been slashing their budgets and adopting hefty deficits.  Austin district officials have pledged that if voters approved the higher tax rate, they would use the money to fund a $17.3 compensation package for staff members and $3 million for instructional coaches, as well as to help offset the district's $119 million deficit. view article

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD trustees approved a disaster provision Monday that allows for a one-time, 2-cent tax rate increase that will help the state's third largest school district offset a budget deficit. The tax increase, allowed after tornadoes hit the region in January 2023, will generate $33.9 million in revenue for the district, which made drastic cuts to librarians and busing to balance its budget for the 2024-2025 school year. ALL-ACCESS SALE! 6 Months for 99¢. Get digital access to local news and more.  “We cannot wait on the state to solve this problem. This board has already put all of CFISD’s eggs in Gov. Abbott's basket, and look how that turned out,” parent Tara Cummings said. view article

Industrial ISD will hold a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE) information session on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. in the Lolita Fire Hall. The VATRE is requesting an 8 cent increase per $100 property evaluation. The district is also holding two more information sessions. Here are the details down below: view article

Northwest ISD is projected to receive millions of dollars as part of negotiations for a proposed Bell Textron Inc. $429 million advanced aerospace manufacturing plant that could be located in the Alliance area of Fort Worth. Under the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act passed by state lawmakers in 2023, Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter seeks to reduce the taxes it pays during a 10-year period as part of a proposal to use a 447,373-square-foot building at 15100 N. Beach St. The legislation allows companies to negotiate with state officials and local school districts to reduce some of the company’s taxes. Bell is one of several companies approved by the governor’s office for the JETI Act. view article

A new solutions paper outlines steps the legislature can take to ensure taxes do not go toward killing citizen-priority legislation.   view article

Community members will have the chance to ask questions and learn more about the proposed tax rate increase for Austin ISD on the ballot this November on Oct. 8. The gist: Any member of the public can attend the event on Oct. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at 3000 Jones Road, Austin. view article

School district trustees in Liberty Hill, Manor, Marble Falls, and San Marcos have all put voter-approval tax rate elections on the November ballot.  Unlike a bond, a VATRE raises the maintenance and operations tax rate and does not incur debt. view article

Public education took center stage as three Houston lawmakers Wednesday discussed the state’s takeover of the Houston school district and the prospect of the Legislature creating subsidies for private school tuition next year.  State Reps. Charles Cunningham, R-Humble; Christina Morales, D-Houston; and Armando Walle, D-Houston, discussed those topics in a Texas Tribune event moderated by politics reporter James Barragán at Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.  The Houston school district, the state’s largest public school system, was taken over by the Texas Education Agency because of low-performing schools for about a year and a half. view article

Liberty Hill, Manor, Marble Falls, and San Marcos all have a VATRE proposition on the ballot to increase school district funding.  School district trustees in Liberty Hill, Manor, Marble Falls, and San Marcos have all put voter-approval tax rate elections on the November ballot. Unlike a bond, a VATRE raises the maintenance and operations tax rate and does not incur debt. view article

The total tax rate consists of $0.7552 for maintenance and operations and $0.35 for interest and sinking. Maintenance and operations funds district operating costs, such as employee salaries and utility bills. This is subject to recapture, when the state collects property tax revenue from districts. The interest and sinking rate generates revenue used to pay off voter-approved debt. view article

The city council members’ proposed rate will increase the average homeowner’s city tax bill by 45 percent.   view article

Hood County officials voted 3-1 to keep spending in check and spare residents from a property tax increase. view article

Lubbock County will not impose higher property taxes on residents this year, thanks to the actions of two county commissioners. On Monday, Precinct 2 Commissioner Jason Corley and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jordan Rackler skipped a commissioners court meeting, blocking a vote on a property tax increase supported by Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish and the other two county commissioners. Corley and Rackler used the same strategy twice before, intentionally missing meetings on August 26 and September 9 to block tax increase votes. view article

Prosper officials are investing in additional public safety programs and its staff in the town’s fiscal year 2024-25 budget. Prosper Town Council members approved a $102.62 million total budget and a $0.505 per $100 valuation property tax rate for fiscal year 2024-25 during a Sept. 10 meeting. view article

The city has until October 28 to set a tax rate.  “Our property tax rate ten years ago was .63 cents per $100 valuation, we are at .51 cents,” said Chair of Budget and Fiscal Affairs Sallie Alcorn. “We’re not picking up the trash, we don’t have a trash fee. Every other city, they all have higher tax rates and they have these extra fees.” On Sept. 12, 1866, the first producing oil well in Texas came in at Oil Springs in Nacogdoches County. It produced ten barrels a day. view article