March 11, 2020      5:18 PM
Major cost-containment challenges for HB 3 on the horizon, CPPP report finds
Individual compression in the new law may amount to a violation of the Texas Constitution; now school districts are going to get equal revenue for very different taxations: “It’s our wealthier districts that are seeing fast growth in their property values. It’s not going to go to our struggling districts.”
Equity advocates still see
flaws to the school funding formulas created last session, but the actual
impact of those choices probably won’t be felt for another two years.
The big problem the Center
for Public Policy Priorities has identified in the new funding system
is the 2.5 percent revenue cap. (Or revenue trigger, if that’s your preferred
parlance.) That cap – which is what Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it – was
the biggest selling point for conservatives, who have seen the growth in school
budgets obliterate gains the state has made with tax compression; most notably
in 2007.
The solution was to stop
sending property tax growth back to the state to redistribute. Instead,
property tax growth will be funneled back to the districts to reduce tax rates.
So, while the expenditures and improvement within the system are capped at $6
billion, that $5 billion for tax relief will continue to grow – and even grow
faster – in a successful economy.
By Kimberly Reeves
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