May 2, 2007
Note: The school-bond elections referenced in this column were held May 12, with approximately $6,299,961,011 of $7,321,831,011 proposed bonds passing. The Texas Association of REALTORS® had no position on any particular school bond, but did want voters to be educated about the tax consequences of approving school bonds. View a list of passed and failed school bonds.
How much do you think a new public school in Texas costs? Would you believe me if I said you can build one for free? Of course you wouldn't. A new school costs millions of dollars. You know that. You know who foots the bill, too — you do, along with your fellow taxpayers.
Unfortunately, some school officials are giving voters the impression that new schools and upgrades to existing facilities are free and may even come with some kind of "magic" rebate.
As voters in more than 100 school districts across Texas decide the fate of bond packages on May 12 (and in early voting from April 30 to May 9), a few school-board officials and superintendents have told property owners that they can vote for the school bonds without increasing their property taxes. Others have said that you can approve bonds and property taxes will actually go down.
Here's where it gets tricky. What they are saying is technically true. I'm sure you noticed the word technically in that last sentence. Gives you the feeling that perhaps there's more to this story. There is.
What these folks are not sharing with the public is that your taxes would go down even more if the bonds are not approved. Thanks to a property-tax cut passed by the Texas Legislature last year, school property taxes are being reduced about one-third over two years. The maintenance-and-operations tax rate for most school districts dropped in 2006 from $1.50 to $1.33 per $100 valuation. That rate is coming down another 33 cents for the 2007 tax year. This tax cut takes place regardless of how anyone votes on school bonds.
So, yes, you can vote for the school bond package and your tax bill may be about the same as the previous year or even less. But make no mistake — if you vote for the bonds, you are also voting to increase your property tax.
School officials in some areas have made no secret about why they chose to propose school bonds now. The timing of the statewide property-tax cut provides an opportunity that doesn't come along often. Seeing a chance to "swap" the statewide tax cut for increases needed to pay for new facilities, some have talked openly about this being a chance to tap into "free money."
You know there is no such thing as free money. If your insurance company decreases your monthly homeowners-insurance premium by $30, and you decide to spend the $360 you saved over a year on a dishwasher, that new appliance wasn't free. It still cost $360. Same thing with the school bonds. You may very well decide that the projects on the drawing board are worth it. But you don't get them for nothing just because you realized savings somewhere else.
I'm not against school bonds. I voted in favor of the last bond package in my school district. I believe that new and updated schools are necessary in many cases and often long-overdue.
But I find it objectionable that anyone would intentionally leave out details voters should know before casting their ballots. The people who will pay for these improvements have every right to know what the new schools, administrative buildings, sports facilities, and other projects truly cost.
Let me make clear that many school districts have done a good job explaining the reasons behind being able to issue school bonds without tax bills going up. They know that voters will look skeptically at promises of receiving something for nothing. Rightly so.
The bottom line, as with any election, is to educate yourself. Find out what projects the bonds will fund. If your school district hasn't told you how much your tax rate will increase — not including any offsetting amounts from the statewide property-tax cut — ask. With that information in hand, you can look at the costs and benefits and decide how you should cast your vote.
