From the Blog
San Antonio Voters Rejected Nearly Every School Tax Hike: The November 3 Results
The November 3, 2026 election reshuffled San Antonio school finances: voters rejected almost every school tax rate election and bond proposition on Bexar County ballots. Northside ISD's 3-cent VATRE lost with about 54% voting against, along with about $886 million of its bond propositions; San Antonio ISD's 3-cent VATRE and $600 million of bonds failed; Comal ISD's $567 million of bonds were rejected; and only Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD's 12-cent VATRE passed, narrowly, at about 51.4%. Here is what the votes actually change for homeowners and for families choosing a district.
The November 3, 2026 election reshuffled San Antonio school finances: voters rejected almost every school tax rate election and bond proposition on Bexar County ballots. Northside ISD's 3-cent VATRE lost with about 54% voting against, along with about $886 million of its bond propositions; San Antonio ISD's 3-cent VATRE and $600 million of bonds failed; Comal ISD's $567 million of bonds were rejected; and only Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD's 12-cent VATRE passed, narrowly, at about 51.4%. Here is what the votes actually change for homeowners and for families choosing a district.
How a VATRE and a bond are different
Two different questions were on the ballot, and they hit your tax bill in two different ways. A VATRE, a voter-approval tax rate election, asks permission to raise the maintenance and operations rate, the part of the school tax that funds teachers, programs, and day-to-day operations, above the level state law allows without a vote. A bond proposition asks permission to borrow for construction, renovations, and buildings, and is repaid through the debt service part of the rate. Both ended up on the same November ballot, and both mostly lost.
The results, district by district
Here is where each community landed.
- Northside ISD: the 3-cent VATRE failed with about 54% against, and all three bond propositions totaling about $886 million failed, including the $764.7 million construction and renovation package. The district said the failed raise would have funded staff increases and closed a roughly $17.9 million budget shortfall.
- San Antonio ISD: the 3-cent VATRE failed with about 52% against, and its three bond propositions totaling $600 million failed as well.
- East Central ISD: the VATRE failed with roughly 52% to 53% against.
- South San Antonio ISD: the 7-cent VATRE failed with about 56.5% against.
- Comal ISD: two bond propositions totaling $567 million failed; no VATRE was on its ballot, so its existing rate stands.
- Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD: the 12-cent VATRE passed narrowly at about 51.4%, on a second attempt, with Guadalupe County votes decisive.
- San Antonio's Pre-K 4 SA sales tax renewal, Proposition A, passed about 73% to 27%. It is a sales tax, not a property tax, so it does not appear on your property tax bill.
What it means for your property tax bill
For most of the metro, school tax rates stay flat for the current tax year: a failed VATRE means no new maintenance and operations revenue, and rejected bonds mean no new debt service from those packages. The one group that does see a change is families whose address is served by SCUC, mostly in Schertz, Cibolo, and parts of Universal City, where the school rate steps up by 12 cents per $100 of taxable value. Set that next to the city's own first rate increase in 34 years, and the honest summary is: most San Antonio bills are flat to slightly up this year, while a small set of northeast-side addresses carries a real school increase.
What it means for schools, and what to ask
A failed election is a budget fact, not a school quality verdict. Districts now absorb shortfalls without the planned revenue: Northside faces its gap without the raise it asked for, and bond projects across the districts will be shelved, rescaled, or stretched over more years. If you are comparing communities, add these questions to the school conversation.
- What is the district's current financial outlook, and what did its last budget message say about class sizes and staffing?
- Which of the rejected bond projects were planned for the neighborhoods you are shortlisting, and what does the delay mean for traffic and crowding timelines?
- Confirm the exact feeder pattern for the address, because district lines and elementary assignments cut through individual neighborhoods.
- Check current published school ratings separately from funding news; the two tell different stories.
None of this changes that San Antonio's public schools serve their communities, but it does mean the funding question belongs on the due diligence list, not the sideline.
The honest takeaway
Voters said no to nearly every school tax increase and bond in this cycle, which keeps most school rates flat, and one district in the northeast corridor will carry a real bump. Decide with three things in hand: the total effective rate for the exact address, the district's budget news, and a current reading on the schools that district serves.
Written by Phyllis Domingo
REALTOR® · TX License 745926 · 100+ homes sold · Helping families move well in San Antonio and the Hill Country since long before the hard part became normal.
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