Special Session Expected in Texas

Texas Governor Rick Perry is expected to call another special session on school finance later this month after Texas legislators failed to come up with a solution on the issue during its regular session this year. This marks the third failed try since the 2003 regular session to pass legislation that addresses school funding and tax systems declared unconstitutional by the courts. A special session was also called last spring to no avail.

Lawmakers did manage to set aside $2.4 billion in the budget for teacher pay, textbooks and other education programs, but did not spend the money because they couldn't agree on a plan to reduce property taxes and finance schools.

According to the Dallas Morning News , lawmakers were at odds over whether a special session should come before or after July 6, when the Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on whether Texas schools are unconstitutionally under-funded. A lower court has ordered the state to reform its school finance system and gave it until October 1 to do so. If they fail to act by the deadline, the entire school system will be shut down. Some want to wait to see what the court says, while others want to end the delays and come up with a solution before schools open in the fall.

As the political debate ensues, school districts and school children continue to suffer under an inadequate system. Dallas Independent School District officials told the Dallas Morning News that they had prepared next year's budget on the assumption that the legislature would not reach a resolution. As a result, the DISD administrators proposed numerous cuts to balance the 2005-06 budget, which at one time included a $28 million deficit. The cuts include ending 277 positions through attrition, eliminating two areas offices, reassigning 56 employees, and retiring 221 employees, who were offered incentives to retire.

These inadequacies were addressed by District Judge John Dietz in his ruling last year. He warned that the state's growing number of low-income children need more educational resources than their middle and upper income counterparts, citing significant achievement gaps between them. If these needs are not met, he said, the entire state will end up poorer and needier.

Concern for the needs of low-income students stems from the continued growth in Texas' student population. The San Antonio Express News reported that last year's student enrollment in Texas included 2.3 million low-income children, which is nearly 53 percent of total enrollment. More than 660,000 students were deficient in English. Compounding the problem is the fact that the state's public school system increases by an additional 75,000 students per year, and more than 60 percent are minorities.

Even wealthier districts are starting to feel the crunch. For now, they are managing to get by with what they have, but raising teacher salaries, adding new programs, or including any “extras” would be a challenge.

Prepared by Melissa Mangino, June 15, 2005