Tarrant County Validation of Appraisals for 2025

February 13, 2026

Statement from Rick Barnes,
Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector and Chairman, TAD Board

Over the past year, there has been significant public discussion regarding the Tarrant Appraisal District’s decision to move to a bi-annual reappraisal cycle and the potential impact on state education funding for our Independent School Districts.

Today, the facts are clear.

The Texas Comptroller’s School District Property Value Study (SDPVS) has completed its review for the 2025 appraisal year, and the results confirm that Tarrant Appraisal District’s valuations remain valid and certified for funding purposes across the overwhelming majority of school districts in our county.

Out of 23 ISDs with territory in Tarrant County:
• The vast majority were found valid and certified.
• A small number were initially noted as “invalid,” but were certified under the State’sgrace period, meaning no loss of funding occurred.
• Several districts were too small for statistical study and were certified accordingly.

In short: the dire predictions that Tarrant County school districts would “lose state money” because local appraisals would not keep pace with the State’s numbers did not materialize.

What We Said — And What Happened

When the TAD Board affirmed the two-year appraisal cycle, we did so based on three principles:
1. Follow the Law
2. Align with the State’s own valuation cadence
3. Protect taxpayers from unnecessary volatility

As I stated previously, the State Comptroller conducts its valuation study on a two-year cadence. Aligning our schedule with the State reduces mismatches caused by “two different snapshots in time.”

That alignment has now proven effective.

The Comptroller certified local values across Tarrant County ISDs for funding purposes. The system worked exactly as the law intended.

Stability, Not Speculation

Last year, some warned that a pause in reappraisals would create instability in school finance and jeopardize classrooms. We took those concerns seriously.

But leadership requires us to evaluate facts, not fear.

The 2024 appraisal freeze carried 2024 values into 2025 absent significant property changes. That decision:
• Reduced unnecessary administrative churn
• Lowered operational costs
• Improved efficiency
• Maintained valuation accuracy

As our August 2025 report showed, taxable values remained balanced, overall net taxable value increased to $297.2 billion, and operations became more efficient and less costly to taxing entities.

Now the Comptroller’s certification confirms that the funding foundation tied to those values remains intact.

Setting the Record Straight

It is important for the public to understand:
• Appraisal districts do not set tax rates.
• Appraisal districts do not determine state funding formulas.
• Appraisal districts value property as required by Texas law.

Local taxing entities set tax rates. The Legislature designs the school finance system. The Comptroller verifies property values.

Our responsibility is accuracy, fairness, transparency, and compliance.

We delivered on that responsibility.

A Commitment to Conservative, Responsible Governance

This outcome is not accidental. It reflects:
• Conservative fiscal management
• Operational discipline
• Respect for statutory authority
• Refusal to create inequities between districts
• A commitment to protect taxpayers first

We were urged to reverse course and return to annual reappraisals out of concern that funding might be disrupted. Had we done so selectively for some districts and not others, we would have created unequal treatment across communities.

That would have been wrong.

Instead, we applied the law consistently. We maintained uniformity. We resisted reactionary policymaking. And we trusted the statutory framework to function as designed.

It did.

Where We Go From Here

The broader issue remains: Texas school finance is complex, and misalignment between state formulas and local valuation timing has long created confusion across Texas — not just in Tarrant County.
If structural reform is needed, it must come from alignment at the state level, not from destabilizing local appraisal practices.

Tarrant County has demonstrated that it is possible to:
• Maintain valid valuations
• Reduce administrative costs
• Improve customer service
• Provide predictability for taxpayers
• Preserve funding certification for school districts

All at the same time.

Final Word to Tarrant County Taxpayers

We said the system would remain valid. We said funding would not collapse.

We said responsible, measured governance would outperform fear-based decision-making. The Comptroller’s certification confirms it.

Our duty is not to follow the loudest voice in the room — it is to follow the law, the data, and the long-term best interests of the people we serve.

That is exactly what we have done. And we will continue to do so.