Abbott urges Weslaco crowd to back plan to end school property taxes on homesteads, says state surplus would replace district revenues

By José Luis Martínez

Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to eliminate school property taxes for homestead owners while campaigning in Weslaco on Wednesday.

The cuts would only cover a homeowner’s primary residency, but it would not eliminate property taxes owed to the county, city or other taxing entity. Eliminating the portion paid out to school districts, Abbott said, would cut the total property tax bill by about 60%.

“From now until election day, get involved, get engaged, say, ‘You want the Abbott Property Tax Abolition to get passed this next session,’” Abbott said as he closed the afternoon event at a CIL Shipping facility near the Mid Valley Airport. He had vocal support from Genevieve Collins, state director for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity.

Abbott did not mention at the event whether there would be funding criteria under his plan or how the funding amounts for each school district would be calculated, leaving unclear the long-term financial sustainability of cutting local property taxes paid to schools.

The tax cuts would essentially force school districts to give up a lever of local control in their budgeting process because they wouldn’t be able to set tax rates to ensure operating revenues. To cover their missed revenue, Abbott suggested that the state budget surplus be used to cover the projected $11 billion loss that districts across the state would face. A similar move was made in 2023 to fund a separate property tax cut package.

School districts would also be further reliant on state funds to cover their operating costs. Weslaco Independent School District’s 2026 budget, for example, budgeted $20 million in general fund property tax revenue, which made up 10% of total revenues, including federal and state money. At McAllen Independent School District, property tax revenue made up 32% of all general fund revenues, and in Mercedes, nearly 12%.

Abbott has been advertising his property tax reform plans across the state since launching his campaign for reelection. His stop in the Rio Grande Valley comes as rising appraisals push tax bills higher for homeowners and businesses alike. While school property taxes for business property wouldn’t be cut under Abbott’s plan, a broad statewide cut could be appealing to people out of state looking to buy a home in Texas, where affordability is a growing issue.

Voters this year already approved a constitutional amendment to raise the homestead exemption on their property tax bills. 

The state attorney general also recently announced investigations into cities tied to compliance with financial audit requirements that must be met before local tax rates can be raised. Brownsville and McAllen are both being investigated, according to their announcement of the investigations on Tuesday. However, it’s unclear what other cities are being investigated.

The proposal also comes months after state lawmakers approved a new taxpayer-funded private-school voucher program, which will allow families to use state dollars for accredited private or parochial schools. The Legislature allocated about $1 billion for the program’s initial phase, a move critics say could increase long-term financial pressure on public schools as districts become more reliant on state funding.