Summer Camp Rally Series
Join Austin families, educators, students, and neighbors for an afternoon of field games, hot dogs, summer activities, and community conversation as we celebrate our schools and advocate for their future.
As Austin communities grapple with school closures and rising property taxes, we're coming together to celebrate what our schools mean to us—and advocate for what comes next.
Whether you're a parent whose child's campus closed, a teacher navigating another round of budget cuts, a student adjusting to a new school, or a taxpayer wondering where your rising property taxes are going, this event is for you.
Join parents, educators, students, and neighbors who believe our communities deserve answers—and a voice in what happens next. Every movement starts with a community willing to show up.
We'll have field games, family activities, food, community organizations, and opportunities to learn about one of the most important, and least understood, issues affecting Austin schools today.
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If you've asked yourself that question, you're not alone.
Across Austin, families are watching beloved neighborhood schools close their doors. Students are being moved to unfamiliar campuses. Teachers and staff are losing jobs or relocating. Parents are being asked to navigate larger schools, longer commutes, and overcrowded classrooms.
At the same time, many homeowners are opening their property tax bills and asking:
If I'm paying more than ever, why does it feel like our schools have less?
That's the question behind Rethink Recapture.
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Texas funds public schools partly through local property taxes. Because property values vary dramatically across the state, Texas uses a funding mechanism called Recapture to reduce funding disparities between property-rich and property-poor school districts.
Under this system, districts deemed "property wealthy" by state formulas must send a portion of their locally generated tax revenue back to the state, where it becomes part of the broader school finance system. Because Austin's property values have grown significantly, Austin schools are considered "property wealthy". As a result, a large portion of locally generated property tax revenue is sent back to the state through Recapture, where it becomes part of the broader Texas finance system.
For many Austin residents, this raises difficult questions:
How much money is leaving our community?
Where does that money go?
How are those decisions made?
Why are schools closing despite rising property values and tax bills?
Is the current system working as intended?
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Because school funding shouldn't be a mystery.
Austin families deserve clear answers about where their tax dollars go and how funding decisions affect their schools.
Rethink Recapture isn't about partisan politics. It's about transparency, accountability, and giving communities a voice in decisions that shape their neighborhoods.
We believe parents, teachers, students, administrators, and taxpayers deserve a seat at the table—not just policy experts and politicians.
When a school closes, a community loses more than a building. It loses traditions, relationships, gathering spaces, and opportunities for future generations.That's why we're bringing people together to ask questions, learn the facts, and advocate for a school finance system that is transparent, understandable, and responsive to the needs of Texas communities.
Join us. Learn the issue. Meet your neighbors. Help shape the future of Austin's schools.