By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – Charged with finding a "permanent and equitable" solution to the state's public school finance crisis, House Speaker Tom Craddick today announced the appointment of a 23-member House Select Committee on Public School Finance.
Craddick said at a press conference today that he and other House members have been working on addressing a school finance plan since HB 5, which would do away with the Robin Hood method of school finance, was first laid out this session.
"The problem was not created overnight," said Craddick, "and it will not be solved overnight."
The Speaker said his hope is that the results of the select committee's findings will not only enable Texas to fix its own broken school finance system, but also serve as a model for other states to use to fix theirs.
Craddick predicted that HB 5 would pass the House floor (Tuesday) today and called that "a starting point" that would put more money into public education in Texas. He said he has visited with Gov. Rick Perry about the appointment of the select committee and indicated that the governor will appoint four ex officio members to the panel.
He said his expectation is a school finance proposal that "overhauls the tax system and provided equity in funding" so that all Texas school students will get an "excellent" education from a plan "that will withstand any court challenges."
One of the main goals of the committee, he said, is to analyze the costs of education versus the achievement of education goals.
Rep. Kent Grusendorf (R-Arlington), author of HB 5 and who will chair the new select committee, called the committee's charge "a great opportunity."
He said Texas public schools are in a crisis and the state must provide some form of relief. That relief, he believes, must come in the form of lowering property tax rates and reducing school districts' dependence on property taxes for funding.
"Schools can't adjust for inflation," said Grusendorf of the current plan that has a $1.50 per $100 valuation tax rate cap statewide. He said taxpayers, too, are facing a crisis as their property taxes continue to increase.
The Arlington Republican said it is his goal and the goal of Speaker Craddick to design a public school finance system that is a "permanent solution that drives student success." He said there is "no more important issue facing the state" than public school finance.
Asked why there were no members of the Senate on the new committee, Craddick said he had proposed the committee and its study to members of the Senate in February and had "no response."
In response to questioning, Grusendorf said one House member, Rep. Talmadge Heflin (R-Houston), said he is hopeful to bring property taxes down to zero. Grusendorf himself has talked of a figure of 25 cents per $100 valuation. But he declined to say any goal has been set for the committee.
"We have to have some property tax relief," he said. "Everybody is committed to that. There is too large a reliance on property taxes."
"We're willing to do what is needed to fix the system," said Craddick. "We're in a property tax crisis across the state."
He noted that many have always said that Texas does nothing unless there is a crisis, and then does it at the last second. "I think we've reached that point."
The main difference between the new select committee and other committees that have studied school finance, said Craddick, is that the new committee will compare student achievement with education financing. He said the committee would use the equity requirements of Edgewood IV as a "starting point."
Craddick outlined the charges to the committee as being the following:
- Devise a school finance system that promotes success for all Texas children.
- Use the constitutional requirements outlined in Edgewood IV as a starting point for developing a new school finance system; Texas cannot afford to retreat on equity.
- Include rational cost adjustments for uncontrollable variations in the costs of education due to geography, scale, and the needs of students.
- Create incentives for improved student performance and cost-effective operation.
- Recommend fairer methods of finance that will sustain Texas schools for the long term and that will substantially increase the state's share of funding for public education.
The following House members were named to the committee: Rep. Grusendorf (chair), Rep. Vilma Luna (vice chair), Rep. Dan Branch, Rep. Dianne White Delisi, Rep. Timoteo Garza, Rep. Helen Giddings, Rep. Bob Griggs, Rep. Peggy Hamric, Rep. Talmadge Heflin, Rep. Fred Hill, Rep. Elizabeth Ames Jones, Rep. Jim Keffer, Rep. Mike Krusee, Rep. Glenn Lewis, Rep. Jerry Madden, Rep. Ken Marchant, Rep. Rene Oliveira, Rep. Jim Pitts, Rep. Allan Ritter, Rep. David Swinford, Rep. Michael Villareal, Rep. Ruben Hope and Rep. Ron Wilson.
Craddick said Gov. Perry has indicated he will call a special session of the legislature on school finance as soon as members obtain sufficient data and information to show the legislature has the resources in place to fix the system.
To view an overview of the Select Committee, click here.