An open records request revealed the Lamar CISD’s Superintendent concerns with a Texas program to finance proposed multi-family residential developments using tax exempt bonds.
In his February 5, 2014 letter to the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs, Lamar CISD’s Superintendent Thomas Randle expressed three major concerns with funding proposed rental housing applications, one of which was the Greens at Brentford in Fort Bend County.
Randle’s primary concern emphasized the incentive of tax-exempt bonds for the reasons’ outlined below (emphasis mine):
“Our primary concern is that the incentive of tax-exempt bonds is attracting residential developments that produce large numbers of students. As a high growth district, our schools are rapidly reaching, or are already at capacity.”
“Our annual operating budget does not have funds available to expand and operate schools in response to this type of multifamily residential development.”
Randle also voiced concerns related to appraisal district valuations, specifically the impact of lower school tax collections on this type of multi-family development compared to regular development:
“Also, we are concerned that this type of development receives a valuation for tax purposes below the level of developments that do not receive incentives.
“We cannot support any development whereby school taxes are less than what would be received for a regular development.”
Lastly, Randle stressed Lamar CISD’s statewide ranking of students per apartment complex (emphasis mine):
“There are currently more than three dozen apartment complexes located within the Lamar CISD. The Lamar CISD has one of the highest ratios of students per apartment complex in the State, which emphasizes the success of apartments in Lamar CISD as attractors of families with children.”
“We have requested that, if incentives are being provided to entice developments into Lamar CISD, consideration should be given by the state to provide supplemental funding to offset the student enrollment impact. We cannot support this program and type of residential development until this occurs.”
Twenty one days later, on February 26, 2014, Fort Bend County Commissioners Court passed a resolution in support of the Greens at Brentford in Fort Bend County.
Got that?
Is there a school bond on YOUR ballot?
*The author is the campaign treasurer of Citizens for Better Bond Transparency
Allen Owen in Missouri City has no concern for what apartments do to attendance in FBISD. He has even gone so far as to rezone vacant property for apartments in a hope to make the property more valuable to his campaign contributor. I am not sure what is wrong with a lot of these elected officials when it comes to apartments but I was glad to see that at least Dr. Randle gets it.