SAN MARCOS, Texas -- San Marcos CISD is having to reexamine the next school year's budget after finding out it will have to pay a "significant" amount back into the state's recapture system, or Robin Hood system.
- Funds to go to "property-poor districts"
- Higher property values coupled with lower school attendance increases amount owed back
- District will reevaluate next year's budget
The district will now owe money to the state through this "share the wealth" program. The funds the district owes are required to be allocated to what are called "property-poor districts" in Texas, referred to as Chapter 42 districts.
In a presentation from at a recent school board meeting, SMCISD Assistant Superintendent for Business and Support Services Karen Griffith said they are now a "paying Chapter 41 district" because the district now crossed over into a certain property wealth per student threshold.
The district's "Wealth per WADA" (weighted average daily attendance) went from $509,762 to $579,000. The threshold to become a paying Chapter 41 district is $514,000.
The district identified several factors that played into this new designation. Student population estimates from a demographer for 2018/2019 were overprojected by 206 students, and the state comptroller didn't accept original 2019/2020 property appraisal values, which caused property tax values within the district to go up by $716 million.
The state determines a district's Wealth per WADA, and whether they will have to pay into the recapture system, by measuring property tax value divided by student attendance.
So, the higher the property values and the less attendance a district has, the more it owes back to the state.
The district says it will now have to accommodate the new "significant recapture obligation." That means going back and reviewing the budget before the deadline.
The presentation states the school board will now find ways to unencumber millions of dollars already designated for a new central admin office, and a drainage project at Bonham Prekindergarten.
The only way the district can receive more revenue back is to grow the student population and increase attendance.
The specific amount the district will have to pay back to the state was not readily available at the time of publication. There will be another budget workshop on June 3.