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El Paso ISD adopts 2025 tax rate of $1.0807 amid public concern over bonds and costs
Summary
The board approved a 2025 combined tax rate of $1.0807 per $100 valuation (M&O $0.7699; I&S $0.3108). Staff said homestead‑exemption changes will be voted in November and the state will provide replacement revenue; trustees and public speakers pushed back on projected bond costs and urged reprioritization to high‑need campuses.
The El Paso Independent School District board on Aug. 19 adopted a property tax rate for tax year 2025 of $1.0807 per $100 of assessed valuation — composed of $0.7699 for maintenance and operations and $0.3108 for interest and sinking — following a staff presentation on property valuations and debt defeasance.
Walt Byers, the district presenter, said the M&O rate remains at the TEA‑set maximum compressed rate the district may use and that increasing homestead exemptions lowered taxable values this year. He described a partial defeasance option for existing bonded debt, saying a $12 million defeasance would yield about $9.7 million in present‑value savings and a $15 million defeasance about $12 million in savings. "TEA sets the Tier 1 rate... it's also called MCR, the maximum compressed rate, and that's at 63.16¢," Byers said during the presentation.
Public commentators urged the board to reconsider certain expenditures in light of the district's long bond obligation. Ross Moore, president of the El Paso American Federation of Teachers, called attention to figures in the tax notice and questioned priorities: "$816,979,999. That's how much you owe on bond debt just on principal alone," he said. Moore and other speakers argued that funds directed toward projects at higher‑resourced campuses might be better spent on schools with failing HVAC and electrical systems.
Trustees asked staff to clarify how a larger homestead exemption — which is expected to be voted on statewide in November — will affect district revenues and whether the state will replace that lost revenue. Byers explained that the state provides replacement revenue and that budgets can be amended once certified values and state actions are finalized.
After discussion and questions, the board moved to adopt the tax rate. The motion passed by roll call; the transcript records Trustee Beals as a dissenting vote and the remaining trustees recorded as voting in favor. The board directed staff to publish the required tax‑rate calculations and noted that the district will monitor the defeasance opportunity and the final state action on the homestead exemption.
What happens next: Adoption sets the district's posted tax rate for 2025; final revenues will reflect the certified property values and any state replacement tied to changes in the homestead exemption. The board will also consider the related defeasance consent agenda item in its consent calendar.
