On June 11, 2019, House Bill 3 was signed by Governor Abbott. The final version of House Bill 3 is 308 pages and makes transformational changes to the way that education funding is done in Texas. It pumps $11 billion dollars from the state into the school finance system, which is a combination of money to schools and property tax relief. Among the highlights of the bill:
- Increases the basic allotment that every district receives per student from $5,140 to $6,160. HB 3 requires districts increase non-administrator compensation in an amount equal to 30% of the increase in funding from the previous year
- At present, Frisco ISD currently has a $1.17 M&O rate and the bill will require a little more than 10 cents of compression bringing their rate to $1.06835. For the average home in Frisco ISD, which is valued at $408,939, that represents a savings of $284 on your property taxes (as long as your property value doesn’t increase).
- The state is targeting money into a system modeled out of a successful program in Dallas ISD, which incentivizes the best teachers to go teach in under performing schools.
- The state is increasing funding to help pay for all-day Pre-K for certain students
- The bill increases the state’s share of paying for the cost of education from 37% to 45%
Want to know more about the final version of House Bill 3?
