Who Will Feel the Burden From the San Angelo ISD $397 Million Bond?

SAN ANGELO, TX — If voters approve the $397 million San Angelo ISD bond on May 3, 2025, many residential taxpayers may not feel the full impact. Thanks to a labyrinth of exemptions, homesteaders aged 65 and older will experience little to no change in their property taxes. On the other hand, renters are the most vulnerable to rising housing costs if the bond passes.

Like all Texas public school districts, San Angelo ISD is required by law to provide homeowners with a $100,000 homestead exemption on the taxable value of their property. Seniors aged 65 and older receive an additional $10,000 exemption. Furthermore, once a senior citizen’s tax amount is set in the year they turn 65, it is frozen and cannot increase—unless they make significant property improvements, in which case only the value of the improvement is taxed at the new rate.

For most seniors, this means the bond will not affect their tax bills at all.

If approved, the $397 million bond will raise the current San Angelo ISD tax rate from 81.1231 cents to $1.07731 per $100 of assessed value—a 26.5-cent increase.

However, the Texas Legislature may help mitigate some of that increase—although not intentionally. Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), part of a Republican-led effort to reduce school property taxes, proposes increasing the standard homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. SB4 was sent to the floor for debate today. If SB 4 becomes law, it will reduce the taxable value of homes for residential property tax payers.

Renters Won’t Benefit from Exemptions—But They Might See Relief from “Compression”

While homeowners gain protection from exemptions, renters do not. They are at the mercy of landlords, who often pass tax increases down to their tenants. For landlords, their properties are ineligible for the homestead exemption. However, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the primary state budget bill, proposes compressing the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) portion of school district tax rates by 6.8 cents. If passed, this would lower the bond-ladened San Angelo ISD tax rate to $1.00931 in fiscal year 2026 for all property.

Combined with the increased homestead exemption, Texas homeowners could see meaningful relief. Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) estimates the combination of SB 1 and SB 4 could save the average Texas homeowner around $500 annually.

Who Will Feel the Impact Most?

The 26.5-cent tax rate increase is significant. Senior homeowners with frozen tax rates will barely notice the change. Younger homeowners could see some relief through the proposed legislation. Renters, however, are the most exposed to higher housing costs as landlords adjust rents to cover rising property taxes.

We did not mention commercial and industrial property owners for this piece as we are focusing on residents.