El Paso school districts are bracing for budget shortfalls next school year after the state miscalculated the way it would make up for the lost tax revenue after Texas voters approved increased tax breaks for homeowners.
Voters in November 2025 approved raising the homestead exemption on school taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 and increasing the additional exemption for people with disabilities or who are 65 or older from $10,000 to $60,000. Though that decreased how much school districts would collect from property taxes, lawmakers promised schools would be “held harmless” for the revenue loss and would make up for it with additional state revenue.
The TEA’s hold-harmless formula is expected to cut next school year’s tax revenues in the El Paso Independent School District by about $17 million, the Ysleta district by more than $10 million, and the Socorro district by about $18 million, though SISD still plans to adopt a balanced budget, district leaders said…