A Texas Public Policy Foundation analysis put a clear number on Lovejoy ISD’s proposed property tax plan.
The rate would remain at $1.2552 per $100 of taxable value. The estimated bill on the average residence, however, would increase by $624.26.
The rate would stay flat. The average bill would not.
According to Lovejoy ISD’s Notice of Public Meeting to Discuss Budget and Proposed Tax Rate, taxes due on the average residence would rise from $10,685.08 last year to $11,309.34 under the proposed 2026 rate.
Flat Rate, Higher Bill
James Quintero, policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Taxpayer Protection Project, highlighted the increase in his analysis of the district’s public notice.
Lovejoy ISD proposed keeping both parts of its rate unchanged:
- Maintenance and operations: $0.7552
- Debt service: $0.5000
- Total rate: $1.2552
The estimated school tax bill on the average Lovejoy ISD residence would increase by $624.26, or 5.8%.
Taxable Value Drives The Increase
The increase comes from the value to which the tax rate applies.
Lovejoy ISD estimated that the average taxable value of a residence would rise from $851,265 to $900,999.
That is an increase of $49,734, or 5.8%.
Because the proposed rate remains unchanged, the percentage increase in the average tax bill closely tracks the increase in the average taxable value.
The average taxable value of a Lovejoy ISD residence is projected to increase by $49,734, or 5.8%.
Individual homeowners may see different results based on their property values, exemptions and tax ceilings. The district’s notice states that state law generally limits increases in school taxes on qualifying residence homesteads owned by people age 65 or older.
More Local Revenue, Less State Revenue
The district’s notice projects local revenue per student rising from $13,803 to $14,907, an increase of 8%.
State revenue per student is projected to fall from $2,483 to $1,527, a decrease of 38.5%.
The proposed budget would increase maintenance and operations spending by 3.08%, reduce debt-service spending by 20.87% and lower total expenditures by 4.54%.
No-New-Revenue Estimate Adds Context
Lovejoy ISD’s May 26 certified estimate calculated a no-new-revenue rate of $1.336344 per $100, higher than the proposed $1.2552 rate.
The worksheet also lists $1.2552 as the voter-approval rate. That term means the highest rate the district may adopt without automatically triggering an election. It does not mean voters approved the rate.
The two figures measure different tax bases. The average-residence calculation estimates the effect on a representative homeowner, while the no-new-revenue formula uses an adjusted districtwide tax base.
That adjusted districtwide value fell by about 5.7%, while the average residence’s taxable value increased by 5.8%. Both can be true, and the districtwide calculation does not erase the projected $624.26 increase for the average residence.
