Book Description

In 1993, Texas established a maximum 1.5 percent property tax rate that school districts could impose for purposes of funding their maintenance and operations (M&O). Tax limits are intended to contain government growth and increase the efficiency of government services. Almost all states use property tax limits, and their use continues to increase as states consider ways to decrease the growth in property taxes. This study examines whether the 1.5 percent rate limit lowered the growth of M&O tax revenues and school expenditures, whether these effects differed in the short run vs. long run, and whether school districts increased other tax and non tax revenue sources to help compensate for lower M&O tax revenues. This study also examines whether the rate limit affected student performance. We use a sample of 1,033 Texas school districts over the period 1994 through 2004, and the Heckman MLE approach to help control for selection bias. We find that the 1.5 percent rate limit decreased the growth of M&O tax revenues and school expenditures, and that expenditures were affected less than M&O tax revenues. Our results suggest that districts helped cushion the rate limit's effect on expenditures by increasing their debt related tax revenues. We find only limited evidence that the rate limit's effects differed in the short-run vs. long run. Finally, we find that student test scores are lower for districts at the 1.5 percent rate limit, and that the decrease in test scores is larger for economically disadvantaged students relative to other students. This suggests that the rate limit is associated with decreases in education quality.