Alamo District College officials proposed a higher than expected tax increase before its board of trustees on Tuesday evening, to avoid a $27 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year.
The trustees voted unanimously to move forward with a $0.0175 tax rate increase, which is slightly higher increase than the $0.0125 increase projected in June.
The amount of this tax rate increase does not require voter approval, but before the board can fully adopt the new rate the district must conduct a public hearing. This town hall meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15, before a special board meeting to officially vote on the proposed rate before the Sept. 30 deadline.
This would bring the total proposed tax rate from $0.149 to $0.167, per $100 valuation, resulting in a $37 annual increase for homeowners with homes valued at $270,000, the current median home value, or $48 more annually for a home valued at $320,000.
“We do provide our taxpayers with $16.6 million in relief through homestead exemptions,” said Lisa Mazure, interim vice chancellor for financial and auxiliary services at Alamo Colleges District, during her presentation to the board.
This, officials said, helps offset the cost of taxes for Bexar County residents who qualify for additional exemptions for residents 65 and older, disabilities and more.
This tax increase is meant to support facilities maintenance and operating costs, student success initiatives and student growth, which has outpaced revenue growth by more than three times, according to district officials.
Earlier budget calculations accounted for about a 7% year-over-year student enrollment increase, totalling 96,000 students by this fall. Today we know the district is projected to hit at least 103,000 this academic year, a 15% year-over-year increase that means the district will surpass the 100,000 student mark a year earlier than expected.
There are other factors leading to what will likely be Alamo Colleges’ first tax increase in more than a decade. Alamo Colleges’ depends on property tax for nearly half of its revenue, with tuition, fees and state appropriations making up the other half.
On Tuesday, officials presented a clearer picture of the state of the district’s budget for this academic year after new enrollment figures came in, property values and state appropriations were finalized.
Priscilla Camacho, chief legislative, industry and external relations officer, warned the board over multiple meetings that they only have some control over property taxes at the moment — which offered a $3.5 billion loss in taxable property value for the colleges across Bexar County this year.
Tuition and fees are frozen at the state level and state revenue is falling short by millions of dollars for the upcoming academic year.
Community colleges outperformed the state expectations under House Bill 8, which changed state formula funding to an outcomes-based model. But with no contingency plan the state funding fell short by more than $440 million statewide for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
This translates to less state funding for Alamo Colleges District. For fiscal year 2027, district officials are expecting to receive $3.9 million less than what they received in 2026, despite improved outcomes.
Before these adjustments Alamo Colleges officials projected a $106 million allocation in state funding for the 2027 fiscal year, but this was eventually reduced to $100 and ultimately prorated to $88 million.
Ultimately, the district is planning a budget with at least $18 million less in funding than what the HB8 formula funding would have awarded.
“What we had not seen is what our allocation should have been before the weight adjustment,” Camacho said during her board presentation. “If everything had gone as planned and we had been rewarded under the old formula, we should have received $106 million for this fiscal year alone.”
The proposed tax rate is expected to help the district deal with this year’s budget shortfall, while also helping to build a more than $20 million reserve to continue supporting its growth, officials said.
Alamo Colleges Chancellor Mike Flores said the district is prepared to cut costs that range between $8 to $10 million, that don’t impact support services such as AlamoPROMISE, AlamoBOOKS, advising and more.
Some of these cuts paired with the jump in enrollment, however, will increase the number of students in the classroom.
“That’s increasing both the fill rate and the average number of students in each of the classes,” Flores said to the board. “So I want to thank the presidents and their teams. And this is at the same time with the record enrollment, so they are trying to deal with both.”
The San Antonio Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
