William McKenzie: Texas legislators, you have been warned
The court wants schools fixed - and that requires money
05:05 AM CST on Tuesday, January 3, 2006

The big "however" will determine the next stage of Texas' future.

Those who understand its importance will act on it for the good of the state. Those who don't get the big "however" will wait for another day, at Texas' expense.

What I'm talking about is the cautionary flag the Supreme Court inserted in its November decision striking down the state's method of funding schools. A central issue in the case was whether the Legislature adequately funds campuses.

The court said it couldn't conclude at this time that the Legislature intentionally provides students an inadequate education. In fact, it pointed to positive results, such as student scores on the nation's voluntary achievement exam.

Then, came the big "however." You can almost hear Justice Nathan Hecht clearing his throat in the opinion. As its author, the conservative Republican evidently wanted to let everyone know the state may be OK now, but it could get hauled back into court soon over its responsibility to provide an adequate education.

Here's what he said:

"There is substantial evidence that the public education system has reached the point where continued improvement will not be possible absent significant change, whether that change takes the form of increased funding, improved efficiencies or better methods of education.

"Former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff echoed the considered judgments of other witnesses at trial when he testified:

'I am convinced that, just by my knowledge of the overall situation in Texas, school districts are virtually at the end of their resources, and to continue to raise the standards ... is reaching a situation where we're asking people to make bricks without straw.' "

Justice Hecht wrapped up his warning in the form of a "we'll see":

"An impending constitutional violation is not an existing one, and it remains to be seen whether the system's predicted drift toward constitutional inadequacy will be avoided by legislative reaction to widespread calls for change."

Back in the 1990s, Justice Hecht issued a similar warning in a different school finance ruling. Then, the question was whether the Legislature's excessive reliance on local property taxes to fund schools would one day violate the Constitution.

Justice Hecht and the court warned a violation certainly would arise if the Legislature didn't change things. Sadly, nothing happened; Austin continued to rely upon local property taxes to fund campuses.

As a result, the Supreme Court ruled in November that the game's up. The Legislature needs to find a better revenue source for schools, if it wants to comply with the Constitution's complexities.

So, Austin will return to work this year. There's no question that legislators will fix the property tax. They have to.

The question is whether enough leaders will step forward to say they also need to face the big "however." Unfortunately, I wouldn't assume they will.

GOP Rep. Ken Paxton of McKinney represented the views of many conservatives when he wrote in the Collin County edition of The Dallas Morning News recently that the court had given the Legislature a mandate to fix the property tax problem, but that there was no need to add more money.

He seemed relieved, as do probably many conservative lawmakers. During four recent sessions on school finance, they've preferred to tell schools to meet higher standards, get their fiscal house in order and forget much new cash.

Money is essential, however, because it's needed to address the conditions Justice Hecht referred to in his opinion. He cited worrisome dropout rates, wide gaps between races on achievement tests and growing numbers of students from poor families.

Greater efficiencies in local schools alone can't solve those problems. Schools require old-fashioned money to improve their work, unless Texans want to end up a state of dropouts who earn low wages and pay few taxes.

As governor, George W. Bush tried to get legislators to address the big "however" of his day. The restless Republican wanted them to fix the school property tax problem.

He failed, but we can only hope some leaders today understand the big "however" facing them. You can't say the Supreme Court hasn't given Austin plenty of warning.

William McKenzie is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist. His e-mail address is wmckenzie@dallasnews.com