Over the opposition of the Texas Federation of Teachers (tft), Texas voters approved a measure that will allow school boards and other local governments to ease property taxes.
Under Proposition 6, local taxing authorities may exempt from property taxes up to 40 percent of the value of “homesteads,” or owner-occupied homes.
A spokesman for the teachers’ union said the amendment could require cuts of up to 20 percent in local school budgets.
But the state’s voters rejected a “water-trust-fund” amendment that also was opposed by the tft
The proposal would have dedicated half of any excess state revenues to water projects.
Because a good deal of that money now goes6to education, tft opposed the amendment.
In the Houston Independent School District, board President Betty Lou Alexander won re-election. Elizabeth Spates and Cathy Minceberg also were elected to the board.
In nearby Harris County, a slate of Libertarian candidates who had promised to abolish the school board failed to win a majority. Early returns showed the Libertarians leading in only two of five races for positions on the seven-member board. Incumbents were leading in the other three races.
The Libertarians had vowed to abolish the “useless” agency by 1983. Had they won four seats, it would have been the first time Libertarians had gained a majority on any elected governmental body in the country.
