To: RRISD Board: Amber Feller, Tiffanie Harrison, Amy Weir, Dr. Jun Xiao, Dr. Mary Bone, Cory Vessa, Danielle Weston

To: RRISD Administration: Superintendent - Dr. Hafedh Azaiez, Chief Financial Officer - Dennis Covington, Chief of Public Affairs and Communications - Jenny LaCoste-Caputo

The RRISD Board of Trustees and Administration must act to reduce the burden on their taxpayers due to the drastic increase in property valuations,  at a time marked by economic uncertainty and rising inflation not seen in decades.

In these challenging times, the RRISD board can alleviate the situation for homeowners and renters alike by adopting a lower tax rate that can offset this substantial net tax increase while still ensuring that RRISD meets its budget goals for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Here are the facts:

1. Appraisal values have risen by 30-60% this past year alone.
2. Homeowners with homestead exceptions are going to see the full 10% increase in taxable value 
3. Renters are going to take a hit to their finances as well since rental properties don’t have a homestead exception and so are taxed at the total appraised value. This in turn will increase rents by 30-60% further exacerbating the affordable housing problem in our area
4. Student enrollment has dropped sequentially, reducing the funding required by the district. The 2022-2023 enrollment rate will be approximately 47,000 students, in line with the 2015-16 school year. Per-pupil spending should reflect that.
5. The RRISD total tax rate can be reduced by more than 25% (i.e. from 1.1336% last year to 1.002%) and still have a very healthy school budget and meet bond repayment obligations.

References:

1. https://www.fox7austin.com/news/property-tax-values-hit-historic-levels-in-williamson-county
2. Williamson Central Appraisal District (https://www.wcad.org/hs-cap/)
3. https://texasscorecard.com/state/texas-rising-rents-highlight-damage-of-rising-property-taxes/
4. 2020-21 RRISD ACFR, page 9 (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B13hERGxqDqDcFZCeWl0VWtncXc?resourcekey=0-s-Jp_ERp5hISwXiLQFpfyQ
5. TEA District Transfer Reports