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HARLINGEN — The Harlingen school district’s new $184.1 million general fund budget is partly based on a 21-percent increase in appraised property values, leading an anti-tax group to argue property owners will be paying higher taxes.
Earlier this week, the district’s school board passed the budget coming with employee raises, including $1,200 pay increases for teachers and librarians along with federally funded stipends based on longevity ranging from $750 to $1,500.
New tax rate to levy $58.2 million
As part of the budget, officials, based on a state law barring governments from increasing their tax revenues more than 3.5 percent per year, cut the district’s $1.15 property tax rate by about 6 cents to $1.09 per $100 valuation.
Meanwhile, the district’s taxable property value stands at $5.3 billion — a 21-percent increase over last year’s numbers — projected to generate $58.2 million in revenue.
For every penny, the new tax rate will generate $531,411, Ramon Mendoza, the district’s interim chief financial officer, said in an interview.
The district’s overall $212.3 million budget includes $61.5 million in local funding, generated by $57.3 million in property tax revenue, representing a $5.8 million increase over last year’s figure; $125.2 million in state funding; and $25.4 million in federal money.
Compared with last year’s numbers, that total represents a $4.3 million decrease based in part on the increase in appraised property values along with a drop in students’ average daily attendance rate, which slipped to 15,400 from 16,000 students last year.
For every student attending class, the state gives the district $6,160, Mendoza said.
Appraised values pump tax revenue
During a public hearing, Steve Jennings, representing a local anti-tax group, pointed to what he described as a 21- to 23-percent increase in appraised property values he argued would boost property taxes.
“That does not constitute a decrease,” he told board members. “Our citizens cannot pay more than they can afford to pay. The school is going to have to tighten its belt … and bring these numbers down.”
What’s in the budget
Of the district’s overall $212.3 million budget, officials are setting aside $154.2 million to fund payroll.
Meanwhile, they earmarked $101,004 to fund the district’s instructional program, while setting maintenance expenses at $21.4 million.
Within the district’s instructional budget, officials are setting aside $6.3 million to fund the career and technology program, with $14.4 million going into the special education program.
Second tax cut looming
This year, the district might be proposing a second tax cut as the state Senate considers what could become the biggest tax reduction in Texas history.
If the state Senate passes the House bill, the district might be cutting its tax rate by an additional 5 or 6 cents, Julio Cavazos, the district’s former chief financial officer now working as a consultant, said in an earlier interview.
