2017 Special Session called

[The Annoyed Man]

allow parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools.

I want to use public transportation money to buy myself a private car.

We are forced to pay ISD property taxes every year since we've lived in Texas and have never had, nor ever will have, any family member in the local schools. Why can't we have a say in these taxes we are forced to pay for the public schooling of the spawn of other folk? Just askin'.....

You do have a say in the taxes. You can vote on them if they get too high and you can vote for members of the school board. You can even run for the school board and have a more direct say, both on the taxes and on how they are spent.

I don't think that the taxpayers should pay for my child's private school education, but I do think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on a private eductation instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed.

[SewTexas]

My understanding is also that neither chamber has passed any legislation submitted by the other. Patrick and Straus are NOT getting along.

well, tbh they haven't had time. They have only been in session a week and a half.....

[SewTexas]

allow parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools.

I want to use public transportation money to buy myself a private car.

We are forced to pay ISD property taxes every year since we've lived in Texas and have never had, nor ever will have, any family member in the local schools. Why can't we have a say in these taxes we are forced to pay for the public schooling of the spawn of other folk? Just askin'.....

You do have a say in the taxes. You can vote on them if they get too high and you can vote for members of the school board. You can even run for the school board and have a more direct say, both on the taxes and on how they are spent.

I don't think that the taxpayers should pay for my child's private school education, but I do think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on a private eductation instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed.

I don't think the original "School Choice" bill stands a chance. Too many people are against it. Including most homeschoolers.
The compromise bill, "School Choice for Special Needs Students" does seem to have a pretty good chance of passing.

[apostate]

I don't think that the taxpayers should pay for my child's private school education, but I do think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on a private eductation instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed.

I think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on shooting classes, CPE, and other education/training for myself instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed. Right?

[The Annoyed Man]

I don't think that the taxpayers should pay for my child's private school education, but I do think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on a private eductation instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed.

I think that I ought to be able to spend MY ISD tax money on shooting classes, CPE, and other education/training for myself instead of paying it to the school district......if that's what I want to do. It's still MY money, not TAXPAYER money, right up to the point where my check is cashed. Right?

Of course, but I think you've missed my point. I was drawing attention to Ameer's comment that we should be allowed to use TAXPAYER money to send our kids to private school. My point is that I would have liked to get a tax credit towards my child's private education, up to the full amount of any ISD property taxes I would otherwise pay. Of course, this is moot for me. My kid is not a kid any longer, and is himself a married home-owning taxpayer with children. But I do think that when adults are retired - which describes me - they should no longer have to pay the same tax rate toward their local school system. We've already paid to build the local system's infrastructure to its current state (which for my area is pretty darn good), but we no longer have the same vested interest in it as a family that is still sending children off to school......and precisely at a time when our income potential is diminishing rapidly as compared to a young person whose best earning potentials are still ahead of him.

....but that's just my 2¢. People are of course free to disagree. .....or even to misunderstand the point I was making....

[SewTexas]

I would love to be able to keep my taxpayer money to use for my own healthcare expenses....'course I would have loved to have been able to keep my tax money to use to homeschool my kids, but I figured as long as they were leaving me alone and keeping their nose out of my home, it was worth the expense.

[Lynyrd]

My biggest problem with ISD taxes is bond elections. When an election votes for the bond, taxes are raised. When the bonds are paid off, taxes never go down. The system is rigged to keep increasing taxes in perpetuity. Once the bonds are paid off, there should be a law that taxes get immediately rolled back the inflation adjusted amount that they were raised when the bond election passed. Instead, IDS's just swallow up that money they were using to pay off the bonds as extra revenue to be budgeted somewhere else.

If I am wrong about this, somebody please show me where.

[parabelum]

We just signed up our youngest into private Christian school due to infectious rotten curriculum in public cesspool. Cost is pretty significant and we'd love to have the financial means to send our other two there as well, but as it stands, one is all that we can afford right now.

Yes, I would love to have at least some if not all of my public school $'s given back, or better yet....not stolen from me in the first place, so that we as parents could choose appropriate school for all of our kids.

But as it stands, too many Unions and crony little "c" conservatives are eating and drinking with commie leftists.

Fuhggedaboudit.

[sjfcontrol]

My problem with isd bond issues is that they are approved with "special" elections -- single issue elections. These have minimal turnout, which means only those heavily invested in the results show up. Which overwhelmingly favors the passing of the bond. If it was rolled into a general election, few would pass. They're rigged to pass.

[OlBill]

Of course, but I think you've missed my point. I was drawing attention to Ameer's comment that we should be allowed to use TAXPAYER money to send our kids to private school. My point is that I would have liked to get a tax credit towards my child's private education, up to the full amount of any ISD property taxes I would otherwise pay. Of course, this is moot for me. My kid is not a kid any longer, and is himself a married home-owning taxpayer with children. But I do think that when adults are retired - which describes me - they should no longer have to pay the same tax rate toward their local school system. We've already paid to build the local system's infrastructure to its current state (which for my area is pretty darn good), but we no longer have the same vested interest in it as a family that is still sending children off to school......and precisely at a time when our income potential is diminishing rapidly as compared to a young person whose best earning potentials are still ahead of him.

....but that's just my 2¢. People are of course free to disagree. .....or even to misunderstand the point I was making....

I couldn't agree more.

[sjfcontrol]

"But I do think that when adults are retired - which describes me - they should no longer have to pay the same tax rate toward their local school system. We've already paid to build the local system's infrastructure to its current state (which for my area is pretty darn good)"

Actually, TAM, we don't pay the same tax rate. Once one of you reach 65 you're eligible for the ov-65 exemption which freezes both the rate and the valuation of your property (at least for school taxes). So while everybody else's taxes increase, ours stay pretty much the same.

Which brings me to the current effort to "reduce" prop taxes. But what I read was that it would restrict the increases to some fixed percentage without a vote to increase it beyond that. THAT is not a decrease!

[srothstein]

Actually, TAM, we don't pay the same tax rate. Once one of you reach 65 you're eligible for the ov-65 exemption which freezes both the rate and the valuation of your property (at least for school taxes). So while everybody else's taxes increase, ours stay pretty much the same.

Technical correction. Being age 65 freezes neither the rate nor the valuation of the house. It freezes the tax levy so that the school taxes do not go up. And the beauty of this freeze is that it applies (sort of) when you move. If you get a new house, your percentage of tax benefit is applied to the first year taxes in the new house, and then they are frozen at that level. This is how some people end up with tax levies of 0 for their school.

There is a bad side. The actual tax goes down if the valuation or tax rate does and it can go back up to the freeze level if the valuation or freeze go up.

Which brings me to the current effort to "reduce" prop taxes. But what I read was that it would restrict the increases to some fixed percentage without a vote to increase it beyond that. THAT is not a decrease!

This is the big debate going on in the house right now. A group of the representatives want property tax reform. They want the process changed to slow down or stop tax increases and are acknowledging that they cannot get it down right now. Another group want tax relief, reducing the tax bill now. They are not as concerned about the process but want lower taxes now. The problem with the reform group is that they are not getting you a break now and need to convince you this is the right thing to do for the long term security. The problem with the relief group is they acknowledge that there is a cost to pay and cannot figure a realistic way to replace the tax money in the budget. The big proposals are increases in the sales tax rate (and I saw 12% on one bill) which is a bad choice for school funding.

[SewTexas]

I learned today while watching the ethics committee that they can't raise $ while in Special session....Interesting. Also there's a rumor that Abbott is considering just stringing special Sessions together until the next election to keep them from raising money for their elections.

[TexasJohnBoy]

I learned today while watching the ethics committee that they can't raise $ while in Special session....Interesting. Also there's a rumor that Abbott is considering just stringing special Sessions together until the next election to keep them from raising money for their elections.

That would be really not smart. It wouldn't be hard to spin that in a really bad light...
"Greg Abbot is wasting your tax dollars with useless special sessions!"

[SewTexas]

I learned today while watching the ethics committee that they can't raise $ while in Special session....Interesting. Also there's a rumor that Abbott is considering just stringing special Sessions together until the next election to keep them from raising money for their elections.

That would be really not smart. It wouldn't be hard to spin that in a really bad light...
"Greg Abbot is wasting your tax dollars with useless special sessions!"

While that would be true if they were getting stuff done....
I have a feeling he will actually be able to get away with it if he wants to...

(the good news in this whole mess is they aren't reaching into our pockets or anywhere else....)