This result has prompted officials to point at both the county and state, saying they don’t control either property values or the tax rate.
What you need to know
Individual home values going up is one of the main drivers in tax bill increases. Those appraisals are set at the county level, according to the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
Meanwhile, the state sets the rules for what kind of tax rate districts can adopt through a formula.
If a homeowner’s appraisal compared to the year before increases at a higher percentage than the tax rate was lowered, it’s likely they will pay more in overall taxes.
The cause
While increasing valuations are something many districts across Texas are facing, AISD is facing a different challenge.
District documents show the average homeowner in AISD could see roughly a $200 increase in tax rate bills this year. However, officials said the reason for this inflated average can be attributed to new home builds, which are often appraised at higher values than existing homes and, as a result, lead to a higher average.
Despite this, officials said the increase may not be indicative of what the average homeowner who already has existing property in the district could pay, AISD Chief Financial Officer Daniel Combs said.
“If you compare the average home price paid in taxes 10 years ago versus now, it looks like a huge increase, but that's not the same home,” Combs said.
The takeaway
Officials from AISD, FISD and PISD said a solution could be for Texas to give more state funding and increase the per-student allotment, which has remained at $6,160 since 2019. It would provide more funding while taking the burden off taxpayers.
Another option is for districts to adopt a rate either at or lower than the no-new-revenue rate, which is the tax rate that produces the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year.
However, AISD, FISD and PISD did not do this. FISD Superintendent Thad Roher said this is because they needed the revenue.
“We need more [money] in order to pay teachers, to be competitive, to keep working on facilities, to buy gas, to pay for the electricity,” Roher said. “All of those things are going up so you can’t lower your revenue.”
