1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose Governor Abbott's proposal to abolish school property taxes for homeowners. While property tax relief sounds appealing, this plan poses an existential threat to the stable funding our public schools desperately need. The financial reality is alarming. School districts collected approximately $17.5 billion in taxes from single-family homeowners in 2023. Replacing all school property taxes would cost $42 billion in 2024 alone. The state already plans to spend $51 billion over the next two years on property tax cuts, representing one dollar of every six or seven in the entire state budget. This is simply unsustainable. The Governor claims state budget surpluses will cover the shortfall without raising sales taxes, but experts across the political spectrum disagree. These surpluses were anomalies created by federal COVID-19 pandemic dollars and inflation-driven sales tax growth, neither of which will continue. Shannon Halbrook of Every Texan calls complete abolition "for the purpose of messaging, but is not a realistic proposal." My greatest concern is what happens during the next economic downturn. If this becomes a constitutional amendment as proposed, it will be nearly impossible to reverse. Lawmakers will be forced to cut schools, healthcare, worker pay, or infrastructure when revenues decline. Our children's education cannot be held hostage to political messaging. Texas public schools already face significant challenges. They need predictable, stable funding to hire quality teachers, maintain safe facilities, and provide the education our children deserve. The recent expansion of the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 already provides meaningful relief, saving homeowners more than $500 annually on a typical $302,000 home. I urge you to reject this proposal and instead support measured, sustainable property tax relief that does not jeopardize our schools' financial foundation. Our children's future depends on it.