January 2020

Recapture Maps

These maps show which districts paid recapture in the 2018-19 school year, compared to the number of districts that are expected to pay recapture in the 2019-20 school year, following the reforms enacted by House Bill 3.  In the 2018-19 school year, 219 districts paid recapture, while 78 less districts are expected to pay this …

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Texas School Finance FAQs

How big is the public education system in Texas? More than 5.4 million children attend Texas public schools and more than 720,000 people work in public education in Texas, including teachers, librarians, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, food service personnel, and custodians. How does Texas pay for public education? Most of the cost of public education …

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Smaller Than Advertised: How Recent Legislative Action Will Affect Teacher Salaries

The Legislature increased pay for teachers, but the size of raises varies greatly Legislators ultimately chose not to approve an across-the-board raise. The proposed across-the-board raise would have consumed almost all of the money the Legislature allotted for education, leaving almost nothing to give pay raises to other employees, reduce class sizes or add new …

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School Finance Reforms Didn’t Reduce Recapture for Everyone

School finance reforms enacted in 2019 reduced recapture statewide Recapture (also known as “Robin Hood”) is the process by which the state takes some of the local property-tax revenue collected by school districts with relatively high property values per-student. The Legislature put $6.4 billion in new state revenue into schools though 2019’s House Bill 3. …

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