Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Homeowners in Spring Branch ISD will see a 5 percent reduction in their district tax rate from last year after Trustees voted unanimously on Sept. 23 to reduce the tax rate for the 2019-2020 fiscal year from $1.39450 to $1.32098, or just over seven cents.

The district’s 2019 tax rate of $1.32098 represents the lowest tax rate during the past 25 years, with a one-year exception in 2008. The actual impact on a local resident’s tax statement is dependent on the taxable value of a specific property as set by the Harris County Appraisal District.

SBISD also has one of the lowest homeowner tax rate burdens compared to many other nearby school districts.

In a related letter mailed to homeowners this week, Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Blaine, Ed.D., thanked local members of the 86th Texas Legislature for supporting public education by raising school funding by more than $6 billion, while providing much-needed tax relief for taxpayers.

“We appreciate our legislative delegation’s efforts on behalf of all our patrons, students, schools and educators,” Dr. Blaine said, while also thanking and praising SBISD community members for engaging actively for so many years on behalf of the school district and its students.

“Our district and our community are well-known and regarded by legislators around the state of Texas,” the superintendent also said. “Your voices were heard, not only in this legislative session, but in the last several sessions, to encourage the legislature to act on behalf of public schools, and to reduce the heavy burden of ‘Robin Hood’ recapture that negatively impacted our district’s bottom line for more than a decade.”

SBISD’s projected $92 million state recapture payment was reduced to an estimated $35 million after combining the increase in the district’s state revenue calculation and the decrease in tax rates. Still, the revenue from the state to SBISD is estimated at half of what the district will send to the state this school year. 

As a result of related House Bill 3 educational changes, the state’s basic allotment per student increased, as did student funding weights based on student demographics, which has benefited SBISD. Added state funds have provided much-needed pay increases to all full-time, non-administrative employees, with the highest percentage increases going to teachers with more than five years of experience. 

Superintendent Blaine has also asked local homeowners “to remain engaged as advocates on behalf of SBISD as our Legislature will be challenged to maintain and allocate funding in the years ahead.”

Read the SBISD’s homeowner tax letter in full. (English / Spanish)