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To exempt or not to exempt, that was the question.

The Bridge City ISD Board of Trustees voted on June 22 to not provide a local option homestead exemption for the current tax year.

This change in the local option homestead exemption is being made in anticipation that a constitutional amendment will pass in November 2015 which could limit their ability to make changes to the local option homestead exemption in the future. Through taking this action now, the board is seeking to maintain local control over the exemption, including the ability to provide the exemption in future years without being locked into a set rate, according to Mike King, BCISD superintendent.

"This decision is also being made so that we continue to have the flexibility to meet district financial needs which is paramount to providing the quality education we strive to provide," he wrote. "As the state is increasing the state provided homestead exemption from $15,000 to $25,000, the resulting impact of the board’s decision to cancel the local option homestead exemption should be minimal for homeowners." King added the board of trustees will evaluate whether to provide a local option homestead exemption on a yearly basis in the future.