This wealthy Dallas church owns the most clergy homes in Texas — and it costs taxpayers six figures a year

"The Chronicle spent months investigating tax-exempt clergy residences all over Texas, and Highland Park Presbyterian Church stood alone among the largest Texas counties in two key respects: The 95-year-old church had the most parsonages of any single house of worship — 11 as of the start of the year. And it has knocked more value off the tax rolls from clergy residences, about $15 million to $20 million last year, than any other church."

At the start of 2021, Highland Park Presbyterian’s tax-exempt clergy homes in total sat on 3 acres of land, contained over 30,000 square feet of indoor space and represented about 9 percent of the $173 million that Dallas County’s 198 parsonages are worth, according to estimates from the Dallas Central Appraisal District.

The appraisal district’s figures for the homes’ values are artificially low because officials expend little effort getting up-to-date figures on exempt property that won’t produce any tax revenue. The 11 homes that were tax free at the start of the year had appraised values of roughly $15 million while Zillow estimates put their value at about $20 million.

“You would think that a religious organization would be happy to contribute to supporting their school and parks and police,” said Dick Lavine, senior fiscal analyst at the progressive Austin think tank Every Texan. “It’s a shift from the church that’s not paying to everyone else who has to make up the difference.”

Church officials say they pay taxes on homes that don’t qualify for exemptions and point to all the good work their pastors do with their tax savings in Highland Park and beyond — from helping refugees and the homeless to coaching inner-city sports.

“It is impossible to quantify the monetary value of the work this church accomplishes in the communities we serve,” said the church’s executive director, Sarah Good. “Keeping families together, serving the disadvantaged, caring for seniors and children, providing a beacon of faith in these challenging times — our work is more important than ever.”