2013 Tax Rate Remains Unchanged for Fifth Straight Year

Following a second public hearing Sept. 23 on the proposed 2013 tax rate, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt a tax rate that maintains a combined or total tax rate of $1.3945 per $100 of assessed valuation.

 The vote by Trustees also maintains $1.09 as the General Fund Tax Rate for maintenance and operations, and $0.3045 as the Debt Service Rate set for approved bond issues, for the fifth year in a row.

 The combined or total tax rate of $1.3945 is now five years old; the $1.09 General Fund Tax Rate has been maintained for seven years. For the owner of a $200,000 home in Spring Branch qualifying for the full 20 percent homestead exemption, estimated school taxes paid on a $200,000 home will be about $2,022, or about the same as last year. By comparison, among Houston area school districts, school taxes paid on the same home average $2,330.

 Spring Branch is one of the few school districts in Harris County and the region that continues to give its homeowners the 20 percent homestead exemption.

 Property values in Spring Branch increased by 6 percent this year, but district revenues did not increase due to the state’s current school financing plan. By current law, the State of Texas funds less, so school revenues don’t increase.

 The Texas Legislature meets again in January 2015.

For more information on the 2013 Tax Rate Adoption click here.