Austin School Board Proposes Property Tax Hike to Fund Staff Pay Raises and Address Deficit

Austin, Texas - The Austin School Board has called for a tax-raising election on November 5, seeking an increase of 9.1 cents in the property tax rate to fund a $17.8 million compensation package for district staff and alleviate a staggering $99 million budget deficit.

"The board has approved calling the election with eight members in favor and only Vice President Kevin Foster opposing."

The proposed tax rate of 95.05 cents per $100 of valuation represents a significant jump from the current rate of 85.95 cents, and would cost owners of average-priced homes in Austin an additional $420 per year. Despite the large increase, only 24% of the additional $171 million generated would stay with Austin schools, with the rest going to the state's "recapture" program which redistributes funds to other Texas schools.

Due to the "recapture" program, the Austin school district has been paying close to half of its property tax revenue to the state for years.

Sources/URLs:

• https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2019/10/07/austin-isd-proposes-tax-rate-raise-staff-pay-offset-deficit/3868776002/
• https://earlyvoting.org/texas/travis