Closer Look At EPISD Tax Increase Proposal

By ABC-7 Reporter Daniel Marin

El Paso, Texas – When class is over at Burges High School in East El Paso, some students line up for ice cream and other sweets from a vendor across the street. This, as the El Paso IndependentSchool District aims to make its own life a little sweeter with a somehelp from taxpayers.

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, EPISD trustees decided to ask voters if they would be OK with a tax increase, from $1.04 for every $100 in home value to $1.17. That would mean the average homeowner with a house worth $100,000 would go from paying $1,040 a year in taxes to $1,170. That translates to a little less than $11 a month.

EPISD says that would drum up an extra $17 million a year for the district and bring in $19 million in matching funds from the state. The total, $36 million, would them be used for the maintenance and construction of new schools, standardized test preparation and even school fine arts.

Superintendent Dr. Lorenzo Garcia told ABC-7 with district spending down by $28 million over the last four years and 19 exemplary campuses, the extra money would be in good hands and put to good use.

“We’ve had great improvement,” said Garcia. “And we’ve been good stewards of the public’s money.”

But one parent ABC-7 spoke with isn’t onboard yet with the district’s plan.

“We have too many bills as it is,” she said in Spanish.

In fact, only one of four parents interviewed said they’d vote for the tax increase. Superintendent Garcia says he has faith the district will be able to persuade enough voters otherwise.

“It’s an investment,” he said. “Economic development goes hand in hand with education. If we want El Paso to continue to move forward, in my opinion, we need to take a look at our education and make sure we’re doing the best there.”

EPISD is aiming for a May 8th election day.