History of School Finance

Three events that stood out to me in having a significant effect in public school finance are as follows:

Looking back into the roots of Texas, one of the reasons for Texas declaring it's independence from Mexico in 1836 was over the issue of the importance of public education. Later in 1839-1849, under the leadership of Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second President of the Republic of Texas, it was noted the he helped persuade the Texas legislature to grant land to support public education. These land grants provided the initial funding for Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. It is impressive to see how our founding fathers of Texas knew the importance of education for all and helped to make that possible. Being a graduate of TAMU, this piece of history was very important to me. Knowing that the campus was first established in this way and seeing it today deepens my appreciation for the "Father of Texas Education" and all that helped to establish our great state.

The second event that stood out to me was following yet another war, WW II, and the returning of our young men. Texas again saw the need to improve public schools. Funding and facilities became the focal point. In 1947, Representative Claude Gilmer and Senator A.M. Aiken,Jr. established a committee to make public schools more efficient and better funded. The Gilmer-Aiken laws were passed in the 51st Legislative Session in 1949. School districts were condensed. Teacher salaries were increased. The School Year was formalized. The structure of the State Board of Education was formed and how the Commissioner of Education was selected were some of the issues that were impacted by these laws. Also, The Glimer-Aiken Laws established an organized approach to the state supplementing local taxes to help adequately fund public education. The importance of the state being responsible in providing public education was also accentuated in these laws.

The third event that stood out to me from our lecture and readings were dealing with the lawsuits that have impacted funding for our education system. Rodriquez v San Antonio ISD focused on the inequitable system of financing schools. Edgewood v Kirby cited discrimination against students in poor school districts. Through this Senate Bill 1 was approved by the Texas Supreme Court in 1995 and the Robin Hood Plan established which included the key element of revenue recapture. As a result of this, the lawsuit of West Orange-Cove CISD v Neely occurred. This case stated that current funding was inefficient and therefore in violation of the Texas Constitution. In November 2005, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in the plaintiffs favor declaring that the state finance system was unconstitutional. When I was meeting with my superintendent supervisor for Lamar, Dr. Jimmy Creel, he mention that he was involved with this lawsuit. Today I had the opportunity to discuss with him more in depth about his involvement. He played a major role in the development and execution of this lawsuit. He shared his involvement throughout the 2 -2 1/2 year litigation process and enlightened me about the funding for Chapter 41 and Chapter 42 schools. The legislature had to change the law and now it is based on target revenues. However, even with the court victory and the changes of the laws, he says there are still huge gaps between districts.

As stated in our week one lecture, Court decisions often prompt the legislature into action, but it is still the authority and responsibility of the legislature to bring about the solution. Sometimes those solutions are only a "'bandaide'" approach to fixing the real funding problem. In the reading, http://texasisd.com, "Joe Smith: School Funding Lawsuit Is the Right Thing To Do" the author believes that districts will again address the M&O tax rates. Also, in the article "Texas school districts inch closer to funding lawsuit" from the http://trailblazersblog reading, reporter Terrence Stulz reveals that a number of school districts are ready to sue the state over its current school finance system and look to challenge the system in the fall.

I believe in public education. I believe that each and every student in our great state deserves the best education we can provide. But dealing with our current financial situation I am fearful that our state is currently missing the mark. Have we misplaced our value on public education? Maybe it does take lawsuits to help our legislators refocus our state's direction on public education. There are always ways to improve...I believe in my state and I believe in what I do...and I believe that each one of these events helped to mold our Texas Education System. Public Education is the backbone of our great state.