After discussing a tax break for major semiconductor company NXP, the Austin Independent School District (ISD) board struck down the proposal with a narrow vote of 5-4 on Dec. 15.
The vote came as NXP considers a multibillion-dollar expansion on Ed Bluestein Boulevard in East Austin.
Though those in favor of the Chapter 313 deal said it stops the state from recapturing much of Austin ISD's funding, many have reason to believe the agreement would have taken money away from Austin students and allowed corporations to avoid their tax responsibilities.
Central Texas Interfaith (CTI), a faith, labor and policy organization, said tax breaks like these leave holes and a greater burden for residents.
“We commend the AISD Board for showing courage and leadership in refusing to participate in Chapter 313, a failed program that cost taxpayers over a billion dollars a year, money which could be going to public schools,” CTI said in a news release. “Today they stood with students, teachers, taxpayers and ordinary citizens across the state in voting against NXP’s request of $100 million in tax breaks.”
The vote comes after school boards in Elgin ISD and Port Isabel ISD have rejected Chapter 313 applications as well as several other districts, the Austin Journal reported.
“Over 40 CTI clergy and leaders presented at the school board meeting tonight and have worked tirelessly over the past six months fighting this proposal,” CTI said in the news release. “This past legislative session, Central Texas Interfaith, Texas IAF and allies stopped the re-authorization of Chapter 313. This vote today signals a new day for AISD, which turned a new page in their commitment to partner with the community in building a stronger district and a stronger school funding system in Texas."
Those for the tax break program say there is little chance of NXP going forward with the East Austin project now that the school district didn’t approve the program, but opponents say the entire Chapter 313 program’s ability to hurt schools across the state is not worth a single project, KVUE reported.
“Chapter 313 is Texas’ largest corporate welfare program which costs taxpayers over $1 billion annually, money which could be going to public schools and other public needs," CTI said in a Nov. 17 letter to the AISD board of trustees opposing further consideration of NXP's application. "Not only do corporations get out of paying most of their property taxes, (for 10 years) they would otherwise owe for our schools, but the state must replace that revenue with taxes collected from all Texans."
In addition, Chapter 313 has no wage, job creation or worker safety requirements for its construction and building trade jobs. For more permanent jobs it has extremely weak job creation and wage requirements, and ISD boards are not able to require stronger worker safety requirements than the law allows.
"The simple fact is over $1 billion a year is flowing out of state tax revenue and into the bottom lines of often huge, large, multinational corporations with huge profit margins," Rev. Miles Brandon, of CTI, told KVUE.