DFW News App

Arlington ISD school board members read material during a meeting on Aug. 1, 2024, at the Arlington ISD Administration Building. (Drew Shaw | Arlington Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Arlington-ISD-4-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Arlington-ISD-4-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Texas now considers Arlington ISD “property rich,” triggering a 30-year-old law that forces the district to send local taxpayer dollars to the state for the first time.According to Texas Education Agency estimates, Arlington ISD is expected to deliver $3.2 million to the state this year under the recapture law — also known as the Robin Hood law — that requires wealthier districts to redistribute funds to poorer districts. The law decides who is “wealthy” by examining districts’ property tax revenue. With Arlington ISD now considered property rich, it joins around 300 districts that bring in more tax revenue than Texas deems necessary for it to operate.In Arlington ISD, nearly 77% of students lived in low-income households during the 2023-24 school year, according to TEA data. The state does not consider districts’ economically disadvantaged population when deciding if it’s property rich. Trustees expressed frustration with Arlington ISD’s new status under the law at a meeting Aug. 15.“We have such a need in this district to help our families and help our students,” trustee Melody Fowler said. “But yet the state says ‘No. Arlington makes a lot of money, so we’re going to take more and give you less for you to use in your schools.’”The Robin Hood law intends to help level the playing field for school districts, advocates of the legislation argue. Every Texan, an organization that supports the law, estimates that “recaptured” funds accounted for 6% of all school funding in 2023.The total value of all taxable property in Arlington ISD increased 5.4% between 2022 and 2023, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District. The district’s taxable value in 2022 was about $36.4 billion. In 2023, it was $38.4 billion.“Our city works so hard to bring in the tax dollars,” Fowler said. “Then to me, it’s almost like we’re punished for it.” Surrounding districts have recently fallen under the Robin Hood law. Fort Worth ISD was deemed property-rich in 2022 and is expected to pay nearly $5.5 million in recapture this year, according to TEA data. Kennedale ISD also is expected to make its first-ever recapture payment of $188,418.To help offset some potential loss of revenue, trustees voted to use the required recapture payments to purchase attendance credit from the state. The attendance credits will allow some recapture funds to find their way back to the district in the state’s attendance-based funding. When districts are deemed property-rich, the state recommends they take this route to make recapture payments, Darla Moss, Arlington ISD’s chief financial officer, told trustees.What are Arlington ISD’s options?

The state gives districts five options when they are deemed property-rich:

Tax base consolidation with another district

Consolidation with another district

Detachment of territory

Purchase of average daily attendance credit

Education of nonresident students

Most districts choose to purchase average daily attendance credits.TEA notified Arlington ISD of its excess local revenue status July 15. The deadline for the district to notify the state of its intentions to purchase attendance credit is Sept. 1.Last year, Arlington ISD adopted its lowest tax rate in a decade, reducing it by almost 20 cents. For the 2024-25 school year, the district’s property tax rate is expected to stay the same, with a tax rate of $1.0776 per $100 of valuation.Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.