Grapevine-Colleyville cuts taxes, seeks donations to cover budget shortfall

Property owners in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district will see a flyer in their tax statements asking for donations as the district is facing financial struggles because of decreasing enrollment and less funding from the state combined with higher operating costs. The funding challenges are not unique to Grapevine-Colleyville.

The district, with 13,500 students, is also weighing options to consolidate campuses as two elementary schools are below 60% capacity, and several campuses are at 75%. The district’s Education Master Planning Committee will present recommendations to the board later this fall. No decisions on closing schools have been made.

During the Sept. 29 meeting, trustees approved a lower property tax rate of 86.86 cents per $100 of assessed value and a request to include donation flyers in tax statements.

The rate is 5.47 cents less than the current tax rate.

The average home value in Grapevine-Colleyville is over $600,000, and the average taxable value is $450,000, which means property owners will see approximately $246 in savings annually.

District officials suggested that taxpayers consider donating the savings to help with rising operating costs.

District spokesperson Nicole Lyons said in an email that the tax statements should go out the third week of October to approximately 51,000 households and businesses.

“To our knowledge, we are unaware of any other districts seeking donations,” Lyons said.

If taxpayers choose to donate to the district, the funds would be used for daily operations and would not be subject to recapture, chief financial officer David Johnson said. Recapture, known as “Robin Hood,” is a system in which the state takes local tax revenue from wealthy property school districts and sends it to poorer ones to equalize educational funding.

“I think lots of people have said what can they do to help,” Johnson said. “This is what you can do to help,” he said.

This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM.