Tax increase looming for homeowners in SISD

Homeowners in the Socorro Independent School District will have to pay more on their property taxes to pay for the construction of more schools.

Socorro homeowners today learned that – on average – they will have to pay nearly $218 dollars more a year on their property taxes if and when the Socorro Independent School District approves a tax increase.

Daniel Lantz lives across the street from the construction of homes popping up all around him in east El Paso. He and other homeowners living in the Socorro school district learned district officials intend to raise property taxes by 10 cents.

It may not sound like much, but property values in the area have also gone up by an estimated 79 percent.

“It sucks, but there’s nothing really we can do abut it. They’re building school after school,” said Lantz.

District officials say a home worth $104,000 dollars shot up in value to $114 thousand dollars. If approved, the owner of that will se an increase of $218 dollars a year, more if the taxable value is higher.

The district says it needs the money to pay for a $440 million dollar bond approved by taxpayers in November to pay for three new schools, an athletic center and refurbishing old schools.

They say it has to be done now to get more state dollars. “By doing so, it’ll increase state funding, the state would pay about by 46 per cent of the debt for the future,” said SISD Chief Financial Officer Tony Reza.

Lanz, who has three children attending area schools, says he doesn’t think this will be the last tax increase. “They keep building houses, they’re gonna keep building schools,” he said. When asked if he regretted moving into the district, Lantz said, “not really, because I like this side of town.”

The Socorro Independent School District is one of the few school districts in our area, with an increase in enrollment, with an increase of 600 students this year.

District officials project continue increased enrollment ion the coming years.

The school district is scheduled to approve it’s budget by June 19th.