State property values up slightly last year
With each new bit of positive economic news, Texas has been beating expectations and that feeds the bottom line of the state budget.
The latest positive sign comes from the Texas comptroller's estimate of statewide property values, which showed a 1.3 percent increase from $1.67 trillion in 2010 to $1.69 trillion in 2011.
In 2010, Texas suffered the first decline in statewide property values in 17 years, and state budget writers had anticipated another 1 percent decrease in 2011 in the assessed value of all residential and commercial property in Texas. That number is a key variable in school funding, which is based on a mix of local property taxes and state dollars.
The difference will save the state perhaps $300 million to $400 million by reducing its obligation to school districts, according to Joe Wisnoski of Moak Casey & Associates, a school finance consulting firm.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/state-property-values-up-slightly-last-year-2157735.html
Or in other words, property taxes will go up which sounds okay until we realize that most commercial property is significantly under-valued when appraised. Will Governor Perry decide to hold a special legislative session this year to restore education funding? When will we stop relying on a variable, regressive sales tax to fund education?
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That was the first huge mistake the State made in funding schools. From the republican view point however, this is exactly what they want - starve the schools.
"It probably will make very, very little difference in the bottom line of school districts," Wisnoski said.
But you just watch the state use higher property values to continue providing less and less for schools.
