Days remaining in the Special Session: 22
Meetings and Testimony this Week
Thursday, April 29:
9:00 a.m.
Committee hearing
E1.030
Chair: Rep. Kent Grusendorf

For links to education-related legislation filed during the special session on school finance, click here.

Coalition Against Statewide Property Tax Proposal Under Consideration
Over the last several days, the Coalition has learned that members of the legislature are considering a statewide property tax as a way to fund Texas public schools. It is advantageous to public schools to maintain a strong and direct connection between the local taxpayer and the public schools that benefit from their taxes. Under the current proposals, the state would gain complete control over property bases, the definition of adequacy, and the amount of enrichment, if any, school districts would have access to each biennium. Reasons to oppose a statewide property tax include the following:

• School districts would lose local control under a statewide property tax system.
• Currently, school boards can use their local discretion and react to a need within the district by adjusting the tax rate.
• If new mandates are placed on school districts and not funded by the state, there is no way for districts to raise additional revenue to address state expectations and meet local needs.
• The state will determine where property tax-based economic development incentives will be offered, where and what businesses will locate across the state.

These proposals would indicate, at present, that school districts would have access to approximately 10 cents of local enrichment. However, under the current proposals, each session of the Legislature would have to decide how much, if any, of the 10 cents can be used and to what level it will be equalized.

Coalition Members Testify at House Select Committee Meetings
Dr. Cathy Bryce, superintendent of Highland Park ISD, and Dr. Wayne Pierce, executive director of the Equity Center, both testified on Saturday, April 24, before the House Select Committee. Bryce and Pierce presented testimony emphasizing that greater capacity though "significant and systematic increases" in funding is the only way to solve the current school finance crisis.

To read more about Saturday’s testimony, click here.

Coalition Outlines "Must-Haves" for School Finance Reform
On April 21, all 10 Coalition member organizations held a press conference, urging members of the Legislature to provide additional funding for all Texas schools as it begins a special session to consider solutions to the current public school finance crisis.

It was announced during the press conference that the Coalition had been expanded to include superintendents and school board trustees representing property-poor, property-wealthy, urban, suburban, large, mid-size, and small school districts from across Texas. “The financial constraints affecting Texas schools are a serious problem that impacts every person, every child and the very future of Texas,” said Wichita Falls Superintendent Dawson Orr, president of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and spokesperson for the Coalition to Invest in Texas Schools. “We thank Governor Perry for recognizing the challenges we face, for his leadership thus far and for calling a special session to address this critical issue. We applaud Lt. Governor Dewhurst, Speaker Craddick and the Legislature for the hard work they’ve done and for the hard work they will do in coming weeks."

Orr also laid out four key principles we believe must be the cornerstone of any school finance reform package considered by the Legislature. Those key principles include: equity, capacity, local responsibility and no vouchers.

To view the release from the press conference, click here.

Latest News
To view the latest media stories from across the state regarding school finance reform, click here.

Spotlight
This week’s Spotlight on Schools features James Terry, superintendent, Mesquite ISD. Click here to read more.

Stay Informed
The Coalition to Invest in Texas Schools will provide regular updates on topics relevant to the school finance issue. The Texas Legislature currently is in special session, considering several options. About 70 percent of Texas’ 1,045 school districts are at or near the state-mandated property tax cap of $1.50 per $100 value, forcing many districts to cut programs, services and staff. We strongly encourage you to pass this newsletter along to others who may be interested in these issues. To subscribe, click here, type in your e-mail address and click Submit.

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Coalition to Invest in Texas Schools
The Coalition to Invest in Texas Schools includes school board members, school superintendents, and other school leaders, parents and business leaders who support increased school funding. As we have seen throughout Texas, when schools are better funded, student performance goes up. For more information, please visit our Web site.