At long last, the Texas Supreme Court rendered its
decision on the constitutionality of how Texas finances
its public education system and whether there's enough
money in the system to meet the state's constitutional
obligations to its citizens. Just before the Thanksgiving
break, the court ruled that local property taxes used
to fund public schools violate the state Constitution,
and gave the state until June 1 to design a new system.
While the court's decision and the formation in September
of the Tax Reform Commission by Gov. Rick Perry seemed
to suggest positive steps toward producing a tax system
that provides both long-term property tax relief and
sound financing for public schools, House leaders quickly
announced that they would renew their efforts to instill
other ``reforms'' to the public education. These reforms
stirred strong opposition from education groups and
local school officials and, ultimately, were defeated
in two special sessions last summer.
So, with a deadline now established by the state's
highest court, will the Legislature at last find the
right balance of will, leadership, and cooperation to
redress the constitutional failures in the state's school
finance system? Even with the clear charge by the Texas
Supreme Court, and with a blue-ribbon panel formed to
help lay out new solutions, the re-emergence of the
``reform'' agenda threatens this process.
The House leaders - whose politically charged House
Bill 2 (HB 2) was defeated in the final hours of the
79th Legislature - interpreted the Supreme Court's decision
to mean that their fight to ``reform'' public education
must go on. They continue to believe that the ``problem''
with public education is its inefficiency, sustained
by public educators who, they assert, misspend the funds
that they do receive. They seem especially angered by
the defeat of HB 2, which they attribute to intense
lobbying by public educators on positions, that they
feel do not represent the public's will.
Public educators, on the other hand, believe the ``problem''
is due, in large part, to the state's abdication of
its partnership to fund public education whose share
of the overall cost of public education has dropped
to about 38 percent, the lowest level in more than 50
years. That has shifted the burden to local property
taxpayers. Tax rates have also been driven up by rising
state curriculum and academic standards, challenging
demographic trends, a shortage of qualified teachers,
a multitude of unfunded state and federal mandates and
other inflationary costs.
There is nothing wrong about a healthy debate on an
issue that affects the welfare of our children so importantly,
and more fundamentally, the economic strength of our
state. But, it is unreasonable to conclude that there
are not strong cost drivers that threaten the inherent
capability of this system to produce a quality education
for each and every child in this state.
The solution is not to divert public money to charter
schools or to eliminate the use of funds by public educators
to ``lobby'' for more funds for the educational system.
The answer and the challenge for the Legislature will
be to build additional financial capacity within the
public education system that assures its success in
the years to come, and despite the strains of increasing
diversity and growth. Systems that have that capacity
don't look to a single source of revenue that will ultimately
be exhausted over time.
The irony is that the Supreme Court ruling actually
gave the Legislature a window to separate the matter
of how schools are financed from the question of whether
there is enough money, or if it is spent wisely. By
concluding, at least for now, that public education
spending is ``adequate,'' the Legislature is free to
focus on the task of building a stable, lasting tax
structure that will grow with the state and its economy.
This is no small undertaking, and the Legislature should
use this opportunity wisely.
While public education seems to have become political
fodder for the Legislature, the public understands the
larger imperative. Whether you are a parent, a businessman,
taxpayer, or all of the above, you know that a strong
public education system is not only critical to providing
opportunity for our children but is vital to the competitive
strength of our state's businesses and to the health
of our social infrastructure.
If House leaders felt that they heard only the voices
in the public educators last summer, then the call for
us as parents - and as taxpayers - is to make our voices
heard. As we approach yet another special session dedicated
to school finance reform, we look for two things from
our state legislators:
-- A focus on school finance reform -and school finance
reform alone. By June 1, the Legislature is required
to produce a robust, balanced funding system to finance
our public schools. The introduction -- much less the
support -- of educational ``reforms'' targeted at the
alleged malfeasance by public educators is a disservice
to us all.
-- Leadership by our state legislators, to articulate
the message that a well-financed public education system
benefits everyone in the state and that the financial
contribution to the public education reflects the value
to these diverse stakeholders, bound by a common need.
The time to act is now.
McGlaughlin can be reached at jmcglaughlin@miswaco.com.
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