WEST TEXAS - If everything goes according to plan this fall, Greenwood ISD will use the three ‘golden pennies’ from the tax rate to raise additional revenue. House Bill 3 passed by the Legislature in 2019 allows districts up to eight “golden pennies” on their maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate that aren’t subject to recapture under Texas’ Robin Hood school finance system.
If approved, three “golden pennies” would raise millions for area school districts that will be needed when property and mineral values drop. Trustees at Greenwood ISD, approved a rate that will not force a voter-approval election. The notice can be viewed on page eight. Because of the tax rate compression mandated by HB3, the counties property tax rates are scheduled to decrease in 2022-23 by at least 2 cents (per $100 of assessed value). Trustees have put forth what is considered to be a fiscally responsible approach to addressing District needs while maximizing local funding and local control.
Property owners 65 and older, who have a homestead tax ceiling, would experience no change to their taxes Texas school districts must send over an estimated $3 billion in local taxpayer funding to the state under the state’s school finance law — a record amount that puts a crushing burden on taxpayers throughout the state while taking needed dollars away from their local schools. Recapture, also known as Robin Hood, is the provision by which school districts with comparably high property wealth per student must send some of the money they collect from local taxpayers to the state so that legislators can spend it on other purposes.
Recapture has been on a sharp rise in Texas. Over the last six years, the amount of money in local funding that school districts have been forced to send to the state has more than doubled — from $1.57 billion to $3.3 billion.
When the Legislature created recapture in 1993, it affected only a handful of the state’s wealthiest school districts. In 2022-23, 175 school districts were forced to pay recapture. Rapid growth in local property values has accelerated the increase in recapture. Earlier this year, legislators decided to use the growth in local property values to reduce the state’s set at $10,000.
In other arrests, on Aug. 15 the Martin County Sheriff’s Office picked up Antoni Gonzales Quintana, 43 of Midland, for Assault Causes Bodily Injury Family Member. His bond was set at $10,000.
On Aug. 17, the Glasscock County Sheriff’s Office arrested Michael Wayne Allen, 55 of Midland. He was charged with Driving while License Invalid with Previous Conviction.
Also on Aug. 17, Glasscock County Deputies brought in Dustin Dwayne Short, 23 of Midland. He was booked on Public Intoxication.
On Aug. 17 in Martin County, deputies arrested Ricardo Aguilera, 20 of Midland. His charge was Violation Bond/ Protective Order Assault/Stalk IAT.