By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – "It is more important to get this issue right than to get it right away," said Gov. Rick Perry today as the House and Senate adjourned the Fourth Called Session of the 78th Legislature without passing - or even crafting - a school finance bill.
Perry said when he called legislators back to Austin in April to address school finance, he knew a resolution of the problem might take longer than the 30-day special session. He said as the session ended today on the 28th day of that session that the odds of solving the school finance issue were as long as "beating Smarty Jones at the Belmont ? a stretch at best."
The governor, who previously vowed to continue to call legislators back for special session after special session until a school finance bill is crafted, called school finance an "incredibly difficult issue" that many state leaders and legislators have attempted to solve in the past.
But he defended calling the session, saying it "clarified the debate by focusing discussion on the details at heart of this matter" - a solution with property tax relief, better schools and a strong job climate. He said he is committed to "spending whatever time it takes" to address the issue, and that he will call the legislature back "in the very near future."
Between now and "the very near future," Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick announced that two work groups of six senators and six members of the House will begin working on negotiations toward solving the school finance crisis and taking advantage of the momentum at the end of the special session.
Dewhurst, too, said the final product relative to school finance will not be judged on how long it took to craft it, but on how it helps the schoolchildren of Texas and how it lowers property tax for Texas property owners.
"I believe Gov. Perry, Speaker Craddick and I have the same goals," he said. He said a proposal must lower local property taxes, ensure equity among schools, end the Robin Hood system of school finance, create more local funding for each school district, add new resources for schools to be tied to accountability and performance and maintain a level playing field for business in Texas.
Craddick said House members are looking for a long-term solution to school finance, not a short-term, fill-in-the-gap solution. He stressed the importance of having a consensus coming into the next special session, and if that doesn't occur, "We are in the same place."
Perry said in order for any proposed constitutional amendments to be on the November general election ballot, a school finance bill and enabling legislation would have to be passed by the end of August.
"It will be very difficult to have anything on the November ballot if we wait," said the governor. "If we can come up with an appropriate solution over the course of the next few weeks, why not do it now and tell the courts to take a breather - take a vacation - we've taken care of our own business."
The governor was referencing a July trial date to address the school finance system in Texas.
The House Speaker, however, said many school groups in Texas were "real adamant" in asking House members not to vote on anything until after the court ruling, because most felt they would "do better in the courts" than they would if the legislature came up with a school finance proposal.
Laying out a plan and reaching a consensus on it, however, would be better than having to be "reactive" to a court ruling, said Dewhurst.