Recently a friend of mine sold his home and it was partly in the Arlington Independent School district and partly in the Mansfield Independent School District! People ask him four main questions about such a weird situation:

Who does he pay taxes to?

The two districts got together several years ago and decided how to prorate the taxes. He pays about 30 % of the school taxes to Mansfield and about 70 % to Arlington.

Where would your children go to school?

He was told that the children could go to either school district and just claim they live in the appropriate part of the home! (Maybe the kitchen!).

Did this affect the sale?

I guess not, the house sold at a good price and very quickly.

How can something like this happen?

This answer is involved.

Over 100 years ago the state of Texas passed a law creating the public school system and required every square inch of the state be included in an independent school district and support that school district with property taxes. These school districts were generally drawn up centered around communities or towns. As the years went by some communities grew and others faded away. Some school districts joined together and some remained the same. Just because a town grew did not mean that it had the authority to change the boundaries of the Independent School Districts. As a result if you live in Arlington your children might attend an AISD school or a Mansfield, Ft Worth, or Kennedale school.

Originally the exact boundaries were not very important because rural land was not very heavily populated or valuable and so the cost of educating the children or the taxes paid hardly mattered. In south Arlington everyone thought the boundary between Mansfield and Arlington schools was right around Wimbledon Drive. That was how the taxes had been paid as far back as people could remember and so when that area was developed, that was where the children went to school.

In the late 1970’s someone found an old record that changed things. It showed a much more “curvy” line that probably reflected some original farm boundaries.

Everyone involved was now told they would have to change where they were paying taxes and change where they sent their children to school. Most involved were upset and a lot of lawsuits were filed, but in the end the boundaries reflected the old document.

My friend’s home had been built straddling the new boundary so it really confused him, but after awhile he just loved telling the story.

The next time someone asks you how come the City Limits don’t match the Independent School District lines, remember the word “Independent” means that they are Independent School districts and not ruled by any City.