My Top Three Events in Texas Public School Funding History

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving.

My list of the top 3 events in Texas school finance includes:

The Gilmer-Aiken Laws

While much of the school funding provisions in the Act are long gone, I feel that many of  the remaining provisions are still relevant.

o   I view the Gilmer-Aiken era as the “birth of modern Texas education legislation.”

o   It established a framework which included the Commissioner of Education, TEA, and the SBOE.

o   It formalized the concept of a defined school year.

o   It set forth an organized method for collecting and allocating state funds for education.

o   Essentially, its structure and basic tenets still exist in 2012.

Rodriguez v. San Antonio

      While the funding issue was relevant, I view this case as important for a much different reason.

o   The Supreme Court set an important precedent when it ruled against the findings of the Texas courts in terms of the 14^th Amendment.

o   The decision guaranteed that all future litigation related to school funding as an equity issue would be handled by Texas courts as a compelling State interest, rather than a Federal interest.

o   In doing so, the Texas Supreme Court’s relevance, make-up, and decision-making duties became increasingly important.  Also, timeliness for final decisions is improved since U.S. Supreme Court challenges based on the 14^th Amendment will not be heard.

Decisions of the Special Legislative Session of 2006

·        The financial solutions set forth by the Texas Legislature during the 2006 special session (following   Friendswood) have had long-standing effects on Texas education including:

o   THE FUNDING SOLUTIONS WERE MEANT TO BE TEMPORARY! – Yet here we are, entering 2013 under the same TEMPORARY financial infrastructure.

o   The existing formula has led to a structural funding deficit while the cost of education has increased steadily and funding has been flat.

o   A business franchise tax was put into place to help recapture more funds to take the place of decreased property tax collections (cut by 1/3 – M&O rate cut from $ 1.50 to $ 1.04) and it did not generate enough replacement revenue.  To make matters worse, certain business were exempted from the tax in 2008 therefore producing even less funds.

o   The 2006 school finance solution has not been adjusted for current instructional requirements and rising performance standards.

o   The 2006 funding solution led to a $ 27 Billion deficit for the 2012 – 2013 biennium.

I am interested in your thoughts.  Please join the conversation.