By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – "Carpe diem," said Lt. Governor David Dewhurst today as the Senate Committee of the Whole passed his school finance plan (SB 2) out of committee. "Seize the day," he said, noting that now seems the right time for the Texas Legislature to seize the moment and do away with the Robin Hood method of school finance.
Apparently House Speaker Tom Craddick is not so well versed on his Latin.
Seems carpe diem to him means, "Not so fast."
Earlier this week, Craddick named a 23-member House Select Committee on Public School Finance. When asked why there weren't any Senate members on the committee, he said he had contacted Senate leadership early in the session about forming such a committee and had "no response."
So pardon Craddick if he isn't jumping through hoops to get on board the Dewhurst train, which appears on a fast track to somewhere. The lieutenant governor loaded up a number of members of the Senate this week and rode a big yellow school bus to East Austin to announce the details of his plan.
Craddick wasn't on the Dewhurst school bus and he's not on the Dewhurst bandwagon.
"While it's tempting to jump on Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's bandwagon - as all 31 senators have done," said Craddick today, "the House is more diverse, and represents smaller increments of Texans. We're not going to do anything with a gun to our heads, especially on something so crucial to the future of Texas."
Gun to our heads? This language does not bode well for the Senate bill's chances in the House. "We'd prefer to craft a public school finance plan that will answer the revenue question, the equity question, the distribution of funds question," said the House Speaker, "and a plan that will answer the two most important questions - what will it cost to provide an excellent public school education, and will the solution stand up to the court challenge that ultimately will surface?"
Craddick seemed a bit miffed that the House was "handed a bill that was laid out just this week and passed after just one day of hearings with scant analysis of its implications." Craddick said the bill would allow for no meaningful public hearings in the House, no opportunity for amendments and would require an up-or-down vote from House members. "We don't think that's fair."
The speaker said he first saw a copy of SB 2 late Thursday. He questions if the bill will truly raise more revenue or be revenue neutral, to which services the sales tax will be extended, how it will affect low-income, middle-income and higher-income Texans, what will be taxed and what will be exempt.
Craddick pointed out that State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's initial analysis of the bill is that "it will negatively affect Texans' personal income, that it will hurt investment in the state and that it will result in a loss of jobs." Craddick said rather than the "gun to the head" scenario, he would prefer that Dewhurst do like Governor Rick Perry has done, and appoint Senate members to the House's Select Committee. "If the Senate is serious about fixing this school funding problem, it should join us in serious deliberations so that we can craft a plan that will answer ALL the questions and make Texas a model for the whole country in funding its public schools."
Craddick may not know his Latin, but he apparently has a good grasp of French, as in...touche'.