“You see the signs on the street that say ‘I buy houses in distress.’ The number of those signs is an indicator that we have a problem.
“Property taxes are a necessary evil. They’re an important part of being a citizen of this country and receiving the benefits of being an American. I’m not against taxes.
“But right now, we are paying more than ever before and getting less than ever before in educational value.
“That dynamic has to be addressed. I do not believe people are against paying property taxes or against funding our schools.
What we do need is more transparency in spending and more accountability in budgeting to cure this imbalance between property taxes and education.
“It’s no longer balanced. The scales are so tipped that you’re not seeing the return on investment in education.
“I see neighborhoods changing and family lives changing in part because of significantly increased property taxes. I have three neighbors who thought this was their home for retirement and they have been taxed out of their home – their long-term investment. They moved to apartments and senior centers because they could no longer maintain upkeep and property taxes. You can’t place all of that unexpected burden on them. And young families trying to start out – they buy a home and get a crushing bill and have to sell that home or move to rental or apartment living.
“My neighborhood was a stable, middle-income family neighborhood and we’ve seen so many people move out. Not all of it is property taxes, but we know property taxes played a role.”
— Tina Aviles
Grand Prairie, Texas