It’s official: The current school funding system in
In September, the state judge presiding over the school funding lawsuit ruled that “the state’s school finance system fails to provide adequate, suitable education,” a stinging rebuke against a system that has shortchanged
So in the face of this scathing performance review, you would expect the leaders in our state government to spring into action and immediately convene a special session to solve this funding crisis once and for all. But instead of making a commitment to the people of Texas and their children to find a way to equitably fund education, the Attorney General’s answer is to appeal the decision — directly to the Texas Supreme Court.
It’s pretty shameful that more than 300 school districts had to air this dirty laundry in court in the first place, but what were they to do when the legislature, led by Gov. Rick Perry, refused to find a solution to the growing problem of how to pay for education in a state that refuses to consider new sources of funding. Instead, the state enjoined school districts, on the one hand, to leave no child behind, while at the same time cutting levels of state funding for required programs that would help schools achieve that very goal. The school districts had no choice but to seek relief in court to force lawmakers to make the hard choices necessary to save the future of
One school finance expert estimated that the only way we can arrive at a long-term solution is to enact a state income tax. Currently, the only source of funding is state aid and local property taxes, with the state’s portion shrinking all the time, while the property tax rate reaches its state-imposed maximum of $1.50 per $100.
Yet, what’s really egregious is that the education those taxes buy is mediocre at best. The state goal is to have 50 percent of students make an average score on their yearly achievement tests. So all that money is really only expected to adequately educate half of the students in
Well, as a popular
“Robin Hood” was the direct result of a school finance lawsuit, and look where that got us10 years later. Now is the time for
It’s time for tough love, or the education of