Texas Legislature adjourns with no new funding for public schools

June 1, 2023 

The 88th Texas Legislature adjourned sine die on Monday without passing any new property tax relief bills or providing additional funding to public schools - both of which Aledo ISD actively advocated for this session. However, as was presented during public community presentations and through videos, social media and FAQs during the Aledo ISD Bond 2023 process, the district will still be DECREASING the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) tax rate for the fifth-straight year due to a bill (HB3) passed during the 2019 Texas legislative session. 

The district’s M&O tax rate has decreased 22.71 cents the last four years or an average of 5.7 cents per year. In fact, the district’s overall tax rate is the lowest it has been in 30 years, since 1993. Based on the old law (HB3) still in effect, we anticipate that the additional required M&O rate reduction will be between 4 and 8 cents; that number will become official after the district’s certified tax values become available in July.

What does this mean to you as a resident in Aledo ISD? It means that we know your tax rates will continue to decrease because it is required by the Texas Legislature from a previous legislative session, even after the voter approval of the 2023 Bond. It also means that - with the first Special Session of the Legislature already beginning - we could see more property tax relief from our Legislators to add on to the current required reduction.

Remember: the district does not set the value of your home and property, only the tax rate; any disputes in how much your home value has increased should be taken up with the Parker or Tarrant County Appraisal District. And, since the state also sets the per-student funding school districts receive, bringing in more M&O property tax value does not increase the money Aledo ISD receives per student; it just changes the proportion of how much we receive from the state vs. how much comes from local tax revenues (ie - the more the district receives from local tax revenues, the less the state sends to the district to make up that set per-student amount).