Voters Approve Tax Increases to Fund Public Schools, Day Care for Low-Income Families

AISD Board of Trustees President Arati Singh in 2023 (Photo by John Anderson)

Austin ISD officials are elated with voters’ approval of Proposition A, the property tax increase measure that will provide millions of dollars of extra funding to the district. Prop A will raise school taxes on a median value home by about $400 per year and generate about $171 million in revenue.

“Our community showed up for our schools,” AISD Trustee Lynn Boswell told the Chronicle on Tuesday evening. “They show up for our schools even when it’s hard – and, sometimes, especially when it’s hard.”

Prop A was hard for some voters to approve because only about $41 million of the taxes raised will stay in the district, something that school board trustees were careful to acknowledge in the months leading up to the election. The other $130 million will go back to the state of Texas through its recapture process. Of the money the district keeps, $18 million is expected to go to raises for district staff and most of the rest will be used to pay down the district’s $119 million deficit.

Boswell said that voters didn’t like the idea of their tax money leaving the district, but they decided that our students were more important. “Our community is wise, and they know our schools matter, and they understand the issues,” she said.

“And our schools are not separate from our community: Our schools are our community,” Board President Arati Singh added. “I think people see it’s in our best interest as a city to invest in our public schools.”

This election’s other Prop A – the proposal to hike property taxes to provide child care for low-income families – passed on Tuesday also, winning about 60% of the vote.

The proposition will increase the average Travis County homeowner’s property tax bill by about $120 a year and fund child care for nearly 6,000 kids. The child care will go to families earning 85% or less of the local median family income.