Just the Facts: Dallas Area School Districts Pay Heavily in the Robin Hood School Tax

Dallas Area School Districts Pay Heavily in the Robin Hood School Tax

Coppell and Highland Park Pay the Most Per Capita

Property taxes continue to rise, but increasingly for taxpayers in North Texas, those dollars aren’t going to local school districts. According to estimates from the Texas Education Agency for the 2018-19 school year, 25 D-FW school districts are expected to surrender $539 million back to the state through recapture, the mechanism designed to better balance school funding between “property-rich” and “property-poor” districts. Statewide, the TEA estimates that 217 school districts will be subject to recapture for the upcoming school year, with $2.69 billion of local property taxes siphoned back to the state.

In the North Texas area, Coppell and Highland Park school districts send the most to the state per capita, both classified as “property-rich” districts to help pay for the “property-poor” districts around the state, mostly along the Texas border with Mexico. Interestingly, Frisco ISD has not been classified as a “property-rich” district but that may change as early as next year, in which then millions of tax dollars will be required to be sent to the state. This will be a financial dilemma for Frisco since the school district has been unable to get voter approval for higher taxes.

Rising Recapture for North Texas

For the upcoming year, school districts across the region will pay nearly $539 million back to the state in recapture, a process to redistribute revenue between rich and poor districts.  Below is the area’s school districts that are required to send money to the state, and the estimated dollars required for the 2018-2019 school year.

SOURCE: Estimates from Texas Education Agency

–        Dallas Morning News, July 4, 2018 (excerpts)