"I think even putting a VATRE on a ballot kills a bond because it kills trust," Eanes ISD trustee James Spradley said at the board's Feb. 3, 2026 meeting, as Community Impact reported. That night the board unanimously approved a plan built on staffing changes and new local revenue. It did not call a voter-approval tax rate election.
That vote shows how school money works in this district. In a recapture district, raising the operating tax rate brings in very little money, and borrowing through a bond brings in a lot. So the district's next big money decision runs through the debt side of your tax bill. If you're comparing West Austin neighborhoods and Eanes ISD is on your list, that is the line to understand before May 2027.
One bill, two pools of money with opposite rules
Every Eanes ISD tax bill combines two rates. On Aug. 18, 2026, trustees adopted a 2026-27 total rate of $0.8254 per $100 of valuation, according to Community Impact. The district's historical tax rate page shows the prior year's rates for comparison.
| 2025-26 | 2026-27 | Where the money goes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance & operations, M&O | $0.7122 | $0.7054 | Subject to state recapture |
| Interest & sinking, I&S | $0.1200 | $0.1200 | Stays 100% in the district |
| Total | $0.8322 | $0.8254 |
All of this year's small decrease came from the M&O side. The debt rate stayed at 12 cents. The right-hand column shows why the two rates behave so differently.
The M&O side pays for salaries and daily operations. Under the state's recapture formula, the Eanes ISD budget page says Texas reclaims about $74 million of the district's local property tax revenue every year, "approximately 64% of funds that would otherwise support our students and staff." For the 2025-26 school year the district puts the figure at $73.8 million.
The I&S side works differently. The same page says I&S funds are not subject to recapture, so 100% of that part of the rate stays in Eanes ISD. The catch is that I&S money can only pay debt on bond-approved projects. It cannot cover salaries or operating costs.
The math that took a tax election off the table
The VATRE decision came down to one ratio.
The district's budget page laid out what a 2026 VATRE would do. Voters could approve nine "copper pennies" on the M&O rate, raising about $20 million a year, with "about $3.8 million staying in Eanes ISD after recapture." In January, Community Impact reported the same split: more than $16 million of the $20 million would go back to the state.
That's roughly 19 cents kept for every new dollar collected. A homeowner voting yes would pay about five dollars in new school taxes for each dollar that reached an Eanes classroom.
The district was under real pressure. Officials had projected a 2026-27 shortfall of more than $6 million. Valley View Elementary had already merged with Barton Creek Elementary for 2025-26 as a cost-saving step. Even so, the board closed the gap through cuts and new revenue. As Community Impact summarized in August, a staffing plan reduced 69 full-time positions through attrition or consolidation. A separate Right Size Plan cut $2.8 million from central administration. The 2026-27 budget, adopted June 23, included no staff raises, Community Impact reported.
When a district cuts 69 positions rather than ask voters for a rate increase, the 19-cent ratio is doing most of the work. Raising the operating rate is close to a dead end. The district's open options are on the debt side.
Why the bond math looks so different
A bond raises money on the I&S side, so none of it is lost to recapture. Eanes ISD Chief Financial Officer Chris Scott has also pointed out that a bond can take pressure off the operating budget. The full long-range package includes about $100 million for maintenance and operations-type items such as technology, buses, roofs and HVAC replacements. Items like those would otherwise come out of the recaptured M&O pool.
The district's Feb. 24, 2026 bond capacity presentation adds a point that matters for anyone buying into the district. After voters pass a bond, "no further community input is required to raise the I&S tax rate." The same presentation lists a 50-cent maximum I&S rate. The May 2027 vote is the one point where the community decides how far that line can rise.
What a bond would pay for, and what it could do to the rate
The project list comes from the Long-Range Facility Planning Committee, which presented its recommendations on May 20, 2025.
- Repurpose Eanes Elementary as a central early childhood hub and move to a four-elementary model
- Replace Cedar Creek Elementary, Forest Trail Elementary and Hill Country Middle School
- Modernize Barton Creek Elementary, Bridge Point Elementary and West Ridge Middle School
- At Westlake High School, build a multistory academic building and library and three parking garages, and expand career and technical education, band and orchestra, gym and weight room space
Scott told the board the full slate would cost about $900 million: $800 million for construction and $100 million for the M&O-type items. He then modeled how the 12-cent debt rate could change. Community Impact reported these figures from the Feb. 24 meeting.
| Scenario modeled Feb. 24, 2026 | Projected I&S rate |
|---|---|
| Full $900M package, no tax-base growth | Up to 43 cents by 2036 |
| Full $900M package, 2.5% annual growth | Up to 34 cents by 2036 |
| Full $900M package, 5% annual growth | Up to 29 cents by 2033 |
| $400M package, 5% annual growth | 19 cents by 2036 |
| $200M package, 5% annual growth | 15 cents by 2036 |
These are planning scenarios, not adopted numbers. The board has not set a package size or a maximum rate.
Each cent of tax rate equals $100 a year for every $1 million of taxable value. At $1 million of taxable value, moving the I&S rate from 12 cents to 19 cents adds about $700 a year. Moving it to 29 cents adds about $1,700. If you're comparing an Eanes ISD home with one in another district, that spread is a real range to factor into carrying costs. The choice between a $200 million and a $900 million package drives most of it.
The number every scenario depends on
Look at the table again. Within the full package, the rate depends heavily on how fast the district's taxable value grows. Scott described 5% as the long-term average.
The 2026 numbers point two ways. The district's 2026 truth-in-taxation worksheet, posted by Travis County, lists about $23.04 billion in certified value, up from about $21.79 billion on the comparable 2025 line. That's roughly 5.7% growth, close to the long-term average. The same worksheet's adjusted taxable value, which accounts for items such as tax ceilings, protests and new improvements, rose from about $18.48 billion to about $18.60 billion, or roughly 0.6%.
The two figures measure different things, so neither one settles the question. Together they show that market values can climb while the base the district actually taxes grows far more slowly. Scott also listed legislative unknowns that could change the base. Ideas on the table include a larger homestead exemption, a 3% annual cap on property value increases and eliminating school property taxes altogether. Superintendent Kirk Koennecke told Community Impact that the district faces "unknowns" pending the Legislature's 2027 session.
The calendar from here to the ballot
The package size gets decided over the next few months.
- This fall: The Bond Advisory Committee is estimating construction costs and timelines and ranking the maintenance items. It is allowed to cut projects if costs require it. Its fall meetings so far include Oct. 14.
- December 2026: The committee is scheduled to deliver its final recommendation to the board.
- Feb. 12, 2027: Community Impact reports this as the last day for the board to call a bond election for May 1.
- May 1, 2027: Election day.
In March 2026, early local estimates put construction at $50 million to $70 million per elementary school, $80 million to $135 million per middle school and $240 million to $320 million for a high school. Community Impact noted that those figures still needed verification. Those per-campus ranges show how fast the total grows once a replacement school is on the list.
A few quick answers
Is anything from Eanes ISD on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot? No Eanes ISD bond or tax-rate question appears on the Nov. 3 ballot listings. The district has described a bond as a possible 2027 measure.
Does the school homestead exemption reduce both parts of the rate? The exemption reduces the taxable value of your homestead, and both school rates are applied to that value. The Texas Comptroller says school districts must provide a $140,000 residence homestead exemption, plus an additional $60,000 for qualifying homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled.
Has Eanes ISD passed a bond recently? Voters approved a $131.4 million bond on May 6, 2023, for campus safety and repairs, stadium work and technology. The district said at the time that it would not raise the debt service rate.
This post is general information about how the district's tax rates and bond process work. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm how any of this applies to your own property with a tax professional or the appraisal district.
If you're weighing an Eanes ISD home and want to see how the school tax line on that specific property is built today, and what the district's own bond scenarios could add to it, Claude's CPA background is built for exactly that conversation. Reach out to Propertysmith Realty to request your personalized home valuation, and we'll walk through the numbers with you before the 2027 bond package is set.
