Here’s their official webpage. I think you’ll be able to discern their position.
HISD voters will be asked on May 6 how the district should pay its Recapture obligation to the state of Texas: by Purchasing Attendance Credits or through Detachment of Commercial Property. Here’s the language that will appear on the ballot:
“Authorizing the board of trustees of Houston Independent School District to purchase attendance credits from the State of Texas with local tax revenues.”
A vote FOR means Purchasing Attendance Credits by writing a check to the state for local property taxes. It also means:
- The district will continue to make annual recapture payments as long as property wealth grows.
- Our total tax collections will continue to grow to offset these payments as property values rise.
- The district will have more capacity in the future to fund schools.
A vote AGAINST Purchasing Attendance Credits means Detachment of the most valuable non-residential, commercial properties from the district’s tax roll. The properties will be reassigned to other school districts for taxing purposes. It also means:
- Under current law, those commercial properties will be permanently detached, and the district will permanently lose those tax collections for district operations.
- The district will lose debt service tax collections used to pay back bonds, which is debt used to build schools.
- The district will face budget cuts and have less capacity to fund schools.
There’s more, but you get the idea. In addition, Trustee Anna Eastman, who was one of the louder voices in favor of the November referendum, has am op-ed touting this one as well. Please note that the referendum wording is dictated by state law – HISD has no discretion, so don’t gripe at them if you don’t like it. The HISD Recapture Flyer (English version) and Recapture FAQ came home as printouts in my fourth-grade daughter’s weekly folder, so at least one school is getting the word out to parents. Have you received any official communication on this, from your school or an elected official? Leave a comment and let me know. Remember, early voting begins on April 24 and runs for a week, with the final vote on May 6.
HISD should have backed writing a check to begin with. The arguments now are exactly the same as for the last election, except that the school board has finally seen the light.
The TEA ruling about the homestead exemption was totally unrelated to the vote to require detachment. Everyone has known for years that HISD was heading into Chapter 41. What changed was a new Education Commissioner.