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elite news - april 8, 2011 - vol. 51 edition 14
Funding Crisis for Texas education:
Robin Hood – Robbing the Hood? By Lola Searcy
W
ho would have ever thought the State of Texas would be facing such a crisis in its educational system? The financial problems with the State of Texas’ school districts have been ongoing; but I don’t think anyone ever thought school districts all over the State and the nation would be talking about laying off teachers, closing schools, and forcing teachers to retire; ready or not! How did we (The State of Texas and the United States) get ourselves in this mess? Some say it was bound to happen in Texas when Legislators enacted the infamous “Robin Hood” plan. You remember the Robin Hood plan, don’t you? The Robin Hood plan was a media nickname given to legislation enacted by the U.S. state of Texas in 1993 to provide court-mandated equitable school financing for all school districts in the state. Similar to the legend of Robin Hood, who “robbed from the rich and gave to the poor”, the law “recaptured” property tax revenue from propertywealthy school districts and distributed those in propertypoor districts, in an effort to equalize the financing of all districts throughout Texas. Article 7 of the Texas
Frito-Lay associate Telly Davis helps Sarah Zumwalt students Lizbeth Morales, Brenda Hernandez and Katia Gonzalez assemble their robot in preparation for National Robotics Week competition at the school. Programs, like this one, help students prepare for the future. Constitution states, in part, “. . . it shall be DUTY OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.” However, the state of Texas only dedicates a $.0025 portion of the state sales tax and the net proceeds from the Texas Lottery, as well as earnings from the Permanent School Fund, to primary and
secondary education. Otherwise, state funding is determined by the Texas Legislature. The primary source of education funding in Texas remains with the school districts’ ability to assess property taxes. In other words, the nicer the neighborhoods, the bigger the homes, the wealthier the homeowners, the higher the property taxes; and the more you pay in property taxes, the more money your school district
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receives. So, I started to think back to when the “Robin Hood” plan first became an issue in the State of Texas. And, it goes all the way back to the initial lawsuit back in 1984. In 1984, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed suit against state Commissioner of Education William Kirby on behalf of the Edgewood Independent School District in San Antonio, citing discrimination against students in poor school districts. The plaintiffs charged that the state’s methods of funding public schools violated the state constitution, which required the state to provide an efficient public school system. School finance lawsuits must take place in state court, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that education is not a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution (San Antonio v. Rodriguez). The case, Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby, eventually went to the Texas Supreme Court, which unanimously sided with Edgewood. The plan is also claimed to have been one of the worst financial disasters in US history by decreasing the value of Texas real estate by $81
See FUNDING,
as iT appeaRs iN
cont. on page 4
pRiNT!
Page 3 Ron Natinsky speaks at press conference
Page 12
State Rep. Helen Giddings on budget cuts
Page 8
UConn takes men’s NCAA Final Four
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