In a case where software conversion problems at a Texas county appraisal district could have cost local schools millions of dollars, the state comptroller’s office announced it would extend a two-year grace period to school districts to avoid a loss of state funding.
The threat of state cuts occurred because of a mismatch between the property value estimates reported by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Tarrant County Appraisal District (TCAD).
The problems were created by the software conversion of more than 1.6 million property tax records at TCAD, which resulted in some incomplete appraisals and slowed down appraisal activities for several months. TCAD Chief Appraiser Jeff Law said last month that he expected no more problems with the new appraisal software. “I was sick to my stomach and sweating at the time,” Eagle Mountain-Saginaw School District Chief Financial Officer Jim Schiele told the Star-Telegram.
The property value study looks at market values statewide and declares a standard that appraisal districts must meet. If the appraisal district meets the comptroller’s standard, the appraisal district certifies the local value to the education commissioner to calculate a district’s share of state funding.