San Angelo Republicans Embrace Big Spending and Higher Property Taxes

SAN ANGELO, TX — As the state GOP Convention looms on the horizon in early May, the discord within the Tom Green County Republican Party reflects a fundamental misunderstanding among many delegates regarding the imminent threat to our wallets at the state convention.

Central to the debate are taxes and the eagerness of numerous Republicans to champion an extravagant and unwarranted private school voucher scheme, to be bankrolled by billions of taxpayer dollars.

Inquiring about property taxes from any county Republican often yields rehearsed slogans. Phrases like "It is unconstitutional to pay rent to the state on property you own" or "We must abolish property taxes" abound. New spending on what is really a middle class entitlement called private school vouchers runs against hopes for property tax reductions. Indeed, the entitlement program could likely lead to extreme property tax increases into future years.

While the state enjoyed a staggering $33 billion budget surplus in the last legislative session, and although a new law resulted in a nearly 15-cent reduction in San Angelo ISD taxes through "compression," some legislators attempted to push through this new middle-class entitlement program dubbed "Education Savings Accounts" (ESAs), essentially taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.

Initially, the cost of these taxpayer-funded vouchers seemed palatable, amounting to roughly $500 million annually for the first biennium. However, projections by the Texas House budget committee indicate that ESAs would devour approximately $2.1 billion (net) per year by the third and fourth years. To put this in perspective, the budget of the Texas Department of Public Safety for FY 2024 is $1.7 billion.

With ESAs ballooning four-fold over four years, one can only imagine the staggering cost of this entitlement program a decade from now.

In the face of this fiscal burden, the Texas Legislature also proposed, in the same 2023 voucher bill, to increase spending on public schools by over $6 billion. This move seems illogical, considering calls not only to reduce property taxes but to eliminate them altogether. Wouldn't such a goal require a fiscally conservative outlook on budgeting?

The "conservative" faction of the Republican Party of Texas would have you support creating a multi-billion dollar ESA entitlement program while simultaneously significantly boosting spending on public schools, which already consume over $90 billion in taxpayer dollars annually.

At the county convention, I proposed a referendum to be presented at the state convention, mandating a reduction in spending on public schools for every dollar allocated to ESAs. In essence, if we're going to invest billions in vouchers, let's ensure the program is revenue-neutral for taxpayers.

However, the debate was lackluster. At the March 23 county convention, most delegates failed to grasp the significance of the voucher issue, seemingly swayed by Governor Greg Abbott's endorsement of a voucher scheme and promises of lavish state budget surpluses forever into the future. Ironically, these same delegates actively opposed Abbott during the 2022 Republican Primary, throwing their support behind candidates like Don Huffines or Allen West, both of whom advocated for property tax elimination. Spending billions extra on vouchers does not align with that goal.

Tom Green County delegate and social media influencer Gary Jenkins took the floor, remembered by some from the 2022 primary when he ran as an independent for county judge in order to avoid competing in a crowded Republican field (I was one of them). Jenkins raised concerns about whether the proposed referendum would fund vouchers for illegal immigrants, a topic already addressed by a 1982 US Supreme Court decision, Plyler vs Doe, which mandated Texas taxpayers to fund the education of K-12 children of illegal immigrants. 

Jenkins's apprehensions, articulated in a lengthy speech reminiscent of a YouTube talk show, swayed the majority. Of the roughly 40 delegates present, only six voted in favor of the referendum aimed at safeguarding Texas taxpayers from funding an unchecked entitlement. In essence, Tom Green County Republicans appear content with embracing new entitlement spending that will inevitably lead to higher taxes...because of an unrelated issue of illegal immigration.