School+Finance

Part 1- History of School Finance

Texas, like many other states across the country, has seen its' share of court cases, legislative decisions and legal changes that have greatly impacted the school finance system. In 1845, when Texas joined the United States, the state constitution mandated that state would establish a free public school system.This set the stage for Mirabeau Lamar to persuade the Texas Legislature to establish land grants for public schools. These events created a precedent that the state, not just local entities, would be financially involved in the education of students.

The second historic landmark within Texas school financing came in 1869 when Texas passed a new constitution making schooling mandatory. The new constitution also resulted in the establishment of taxes to support public schools. Although school taxes seem commonplace in today’s society they were far from the norm in 1871 when first levied. The lecture emphasized that the public was not initially supportive of this. In fact during the first year of the tax, a majority of taxpayers demonstrated their disdain by refusing to pay.

The equalization of funding precedent brought on by the appropriation of one million dollars to rural school in 1915 could be considered the third historic landmark. Although this appropriation was a result of the Constitution of 1876, it was the first time that the legislature put money into the hands of local school districts with the express intent of equaling funding between districts. This appropriation of funds sent the State of Texas down a path that committed it to ensuring that there was equity between districts. In this historic move the state attempted to ensure that all students had an opportunity to an appropriate education no matter where they were located geographically within the state. This transaction of funds to rural school set a strong precedent for the Edgewood cases that would come in the future. As the state continues to struggle with ways to adequately and equitably fund public education we will continue to see the courts involved as individuals fight for the education of their children.

Part 2- Three or four basic issues impacting a state formula.

The lecture this week focused on equality, equity and adequacy. The goal of the Texas school finance system is to provide funding at an appropriate level that balances funding between property rich school districts (Chapter 41) and property poor districts (Chapter 42). Although this is the theory of the system, as with many other things it sometimes is more difficult when placed into the constraints of reality. First and foremost, the state formula is subject to property values, tax rates, average daily attendance (ADA) and the weighted average daily attendance (WADA), and the special instructional program allotment.

The weighted average daily attendance is a note of contention within the state of Texas. The amount of money spent on a per pupil basis varies greatly from one school district to another. Often one can read a statement from a Superintendent stating that if their school district was to receive funding at the same WADA as another school district a significant increase in funding would be netted. This is true for many districts under the current funding formula.

Because of the difference in property values across the state, adjustments are made to the allotment that require some school districts to send back money to the state through one of five recapture methods. These funds are then distributed to school districts that are considered Chapter 42 districts. This exchange of funds between school districts is a result of Senate Bill 1 that was signed into law by governor Ann Richards.

School districts also receive additional funding based on special instructional programs. Some of these programs are State Compensatory Education, Special Education, Bilingual, Career and Technology and Gifted and Talented Education. The money appropriated for these programs are meant to assist schools in providing an education that is adequate and equitable. With these funds schools are able to offer additional programs to meet the needs of their local demographic populations.

Part 3 Equality, Equity and Adequacy

Equality means every student has the same access to the same type of educational program. One example for this would be that districts must offer and fund courses to meet the curriculum requirements of the TEKS in the areas of math, reading, language arts, science and social studies. Another example is that all school districts are required to offer a minimum number of instructional days per year.

Equity means that the system is fair and responds to the needs of individuals. Article 7 of the Texas Constitution states that it is the duty of the Legislature of the State to provide for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. It is this portion of the Texas Constitution that requires an equitable education system for all students in the state. An example of equity would be demonstrated through the special instruction allotments given by the state. School districts are given state compensatory funds to address the needs of at- risk students. Additionally, funds are also distributed for Special Education including additional funding that can be given for extreme needs cases.

The Texas Constitution indicates that a general diffusion of knowledge is essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of people. This type of support of Texas free public schools is deemed as adequate funding. Adequacy means that the school district receives financial support which is sufficient enough to meet the state accreditation standards. The new instructional materials allotment that replaced the technology and textbook allotments would be an example of adequacy. The state gives this money to the districts so they can meet the standards of the state. Another example would be the minimum teacher salary scale.