The Houston Independent School District board voted to adopt its 2025 property tax rate, a decision that has major implications for the district’s $2 billion budget and the taxpayers who fund it.
The approval of the tax rate is a pivotal step in keeping HISD’s operations running.
The tax vote
The HISD board members unanimously approved the 2025 ad valorem tax rate. While the board notice did not detail the exact cents per $100 valuation in open discussion, the measure formalized HISD’s levy for the coming fiscal year.
The proposed tax rate for 2025 is lower than the previous year’s rate.
- 2024 rate: 0.8683
- 2025 rate: 0.8490
- This drop of 0.0193 cents is due to tax compression
Taxes can still go up. Although the rate decreased, the school district is legally required to state that the 2025 tax rate will “raise more taxes for maintenance and operations than last year’s tax rate.” This is because of rising property values, which increase the total tax burden.
For example, a $200,000 home in 2024 generated $1,403 in taxes. The same home valued at $225,000 in 2025 generates $1,534 in taxes, an increase despite the lower rate.
Adopting the rate ensures HISD can balance its budget, fund employee salaries, support academic programming and cover rising costs associated with inflation and Houston’s rapid property growth.
The vote came as HISD grapples with competing pressures: State recapture payments, demands for more classroom resources and community distrust over the rollout of the New Education System model.
For many parents who filled the board auditorium, fiscal policy was not their main focus. Dozens spoke against library reductions and teacher reassignments at Durham Elementary, but some also raised questions about whether tax dollars were being spent effectively.
“Curriculum shifts announced at the last minute, teachers reassigned to entirely new subjects and classroom layouts altered after the very first day of school,” said Durham parent Abby Starghill. “Unfortunately, these were not isolated incidents. What we continue to see is a pattern. Poorly planned, disruption, rolled-out without the proper support or resources. And every time this happens, our students and teachers suffer. Build on our foundation. Don’t demolish it.”
Sam Bryan, the parent of two HISD students, raised questions about how public tax dollars are being used in HISD.
“Learning to read with confidence, fluency and analysis is a core promise of public schooling. What has Miles done to support that promise?” Bryan said. “He’s closed the libraries. He’s fired librarians. He’s thrown out tens of millions of dollars of resources…This year, 186 schools do not have functioning libraries. Those students are being robbed of their future, of the promise of literacy, robbed of the freedom to pursue their own interests, and robbed of the resources which their peers can access and which taxpayers paid for.”
What’s next?
With the tax rate set, HISD will implement its 2025-26 budget, which includes investments in special education growth, accelerated math programs, and dual-language expansion.
