Gov. Greg Abbott wants to eliminate school property taxes on every Texas homestead, a proposal he estimates would cost $10 billion a year.

For a Spring-area homeowner with a $300,000 taxable homestead, the savings could reach roughly $3,000 annually, according to Pat O'Connor, president of O'Connor Property Tax Reduction & Appeals Services and a 35-year property tax professional. O'Connor provided that estimate to Click2Houston, which first reported on the proposal Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The plan is a campaign promise, not law. Abbott, running for a fourth term, pitched it at a campaign event in Pasadena.

"The amount you get on your bill, from the local school district that you pay in property taxes should be zero dollars," Abbott said.

The proposal lands as Spring ISD asks voters to approve Proposition A on the Nov. 3 ballot. That measure would raise the district's maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate by 2 cents to $1.1569 per $100 of property value. For a $250,000 home with a homestead exemption, the increase would cost about $55 a year, according to a Spring ISD press release.

If approved, Proposition A would generate an estimated $5.6 million in additional local revenue and unlock about $9.9 million in state funding, totaling $15.5 million. The district was facing an expected $9 million deficit as of April and has already closed two schools, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Abbott's proposal, if enacted, would eliminate the same M&O revenue stream that Proposition A seeks to increase.

What would replace the revenue?

Texas school districts collect about $29 billion annually through M&O taxes. About $8.6 billion of that comes from homesteads, according to Tetyana Melnyk, the state comptroller's chief revenue estimator, at a Sept. 15 House Ways and Means Committee hearing, as Community Impact reported. That figure is projected to grow to $12 billion a year by 2032.

Abbott said recent state budget surpluses would cover the cost. His campaign press secretary, Eduardo Leal, said in a Sept. 17 statement that Texas has demonstrated it can take on a greater share of education funding while driving down local tax bills.

O'Connor is skeptical the full elimination can pass in the 2027 legislative session, which begins in January.

"It would be great if it could be accomplished," O'Connor said. "But I'd say it's highly unlikely to happen in the 2027 legislative session."

He said a change this large could take multiple sessions. O'Connor said replacement options include higher taxes on tobacco, liquor and corporations, or raising the state sales tax. The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association found that replacing all property tax revenue through the sales tax alone would push the rate to nearly 20%, ABC13 reported.

The proposal would also require a constitutional amendment, meaning two-thirds of state lawmakers and a majority of Texas voters would have to approve it.

What it means locally

When the Spring ISD board voted in August to place Proposition A on the ballot, Superintendent Dr. Kregg Cuellar said the district had "worked hard to change the trajectory of Spring ISD" and called the measure essential to protecting student progress. No public statement from Cuellar or the district addressing Abbott's elimination proposal appeared in district records as of Oct. 8.

About a third of Texas homeowners 65 and older already pay no school property taxes under existing exemptions. Homeowners under 65 who still owe school taxes on their homesteads would see the largest benefit if Abbott's plan becomes law.

Early voting for Spring ISD's Proposition A runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3, with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.