San Angelo ISD Prepares to Jack-Up Your Taxes

San Angelo ISD

Residents who own property inside the boundaries of the San Angelo Independent School District are about to see their property taxes increase.

The reason is that the State of Texas, suffering like we all are from reduced revenues, is refactoring how the state reimburses school districts the property tax money for school district operations.

The state looks at the local tax rate and the credibility of the local appraisal district’s valuation of property to determine how much revenue the state will grant the local district.

In San Angelo’s case, the homestead exemption, currently at 20%, reduces local tax revenue, and directly impacts how much money the state gives the San Angelo ISD. That’s because other school districts in other cities and towns have lower homestead exemptions. They tax more, so they get more state money.

In order to maximize how much money the local district will receive from the state, the school board is considering reducing the homestead exemption from 20% to possibly as low as 5%.

For the owner of a home appraised at $100,000 and currently enrolled in the homestead exemption program, it means that the taxable value of that home will increase from $80,000 to as high as $95,000. The total economic impact annually on the homeowner will be approximately $110.

The San Angelo ISD Board of Trustees cannot do anything to fix the State of Texas’ court-imposed Robin Hood law because that law effectively neuters local governance of school districts. However, the board can attempt to place some austerity measures in place, like cutting administrative staff, before demanding another dime out of already strapped San Angeloans.

The San Angelo ISD school board will meet Thursday, June 9th, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the school administration building at Jackson and University. The main issue is whether to cut the Homestead Exemption from the current 20% to 10% or 5%.

If you are concerned about paying higher taxes before cutting spending, or you want to see how local government works, I encourage you to attend.

Update 6/23/2011: The school board in San Angelo voted overwhelmingly to eliminate the Homestead Exemption altogether Monday night, 6/20/2011.