Over the last three years, HCISD has lowered property taxes by more than 16 cents.
This year, the school district will be lowering the tax rate by 1.6 cents.
“We will be lowering our tax rate from $1.1723 per $100 of taxable property value to $1.1562 per $100 of taxable property value,” Chief Financial Officer Julio Cavazos said.
The lower tax rate comes from the property tax compression from House Bill 3 which was passed in 2019.
“I am not sure that has ever happened before, the three years in a row,” Board President Gerry Fleuriet said. “This is a momentous thing. This is really one of the more foundationally important things that have ever happened to change and secure the future of this district.”
Harlingen CISD’s history of sound decision-making, fiscal responsibility, and long-range planning has allowed the district to continue providing tax cuts.
This year’s reduced tax rate will be even lower than it was in 2015 when HCISD voters approved the Tax Ratification Election which included a 10-cent tax raise that funded school improvements and upgrades.
“At the time it was just brilliant, the recommendation of TRE and look at what happened following that,” board member Dr. Nolan Perez said. “The taxpayers are getting an incredible value for their money.”
In 2019, the board voted to return the property tax rate to $1.22, the previous rate prior to the passage of TRE, and since then the board has voted to lower taxes each year.
“The district is doing their due diligence to either keep the tax rate steady or even lower than before,” board secretary Javier De Leon said.
Up through last year, HCISD has had one of the biggest tax reductions in the Region One area.
“I think Harlingen CISD has always had a reputation of being a strong steward of our finances and recognizing that we represent a community,” Superintendent Dr. Alicia Noyola said. “So, the tremendous work that Julio and his staff consistently do, it’s just showing dividends year in and year out. Thanks to the work of this tremendous board and the work Julio and our business office have done, we were able to move those savings directly to our taxpayers.”
