By Jennifer Bendery, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
Moving the state one step closer to "taking the sting out of Robin Hood's arrow," Rep. Kent Grusendorf (R-Arlington) today announced that he has filed his sweeping education reform bill aimed at increasing funding for every school district in Texas.
HB 2, or the "Roadmap to Results" bill, provides more than $3 billion in new dollars over the next biennium in addition to money for enrollment growth in the state's public schools. Under the bill, every school district will receive at least 3 percent more funding this fall; districts can raise additional dollars if their voters approve a local enrichment tax of up to 10 cents.
"Our state standards for public education are rigorous and our accountability system is strong," said Grusendorf, chair of the House Committee on Public Education. "We're moving full speed ahead to a destination we all want to reach - an education system with higher standards that allows all children to achieve their potential."
Key elements of HB 2 include:
- Increasing the state's share of funding from 38 to 60 percent. This is the largest contribution the state has made in more than two decades.
- Reducing the money captured from property wealthy districts by 88 percent. This dramatically reduces the amount of money captured, from $1.2 billion tax dollars per year to $145 million per year.
- Restoring the teacher health insurance supplement to $1,000 per year.
- Including new technology money for online testing and more individual instruction.
- "Dropping the hammer on low-performing schools" by giving authority to the Commissioner of Education to move more swiftly and aggressively to take over failing campuses.
- Footing the bill for students' SAT and ACT college entrance exams.
- Setting standards - with consequences - to ensure students master English more quickly.
Grusendorf said the 137-page bill includes measures to improve financial accountability and increase school efficiency; encourage greater use of cooperatives; reduce administrative expenses; provide for online best practices so school districts don't have to "reinvent the wheel;" and begin classes each fall on a uniform date after Labor Day, which will save taxpayers more than $85 million each year.
To increase achievement, HB 2 includes offering mentor support and management training for beginning teachers and principals; creating temporary certificates for principals; and proposing advanced opportunities for gifted students. The accountability portion of the bill attaches measures including improved reporting of campus and district revenues and expenditures and reporting requirements of college readiness.
"Together, these measures strengthen the core of Texas public education," said Grusendorf. "We're proud of what educators and students have already achieved but we must go the extra mile. There may be more than one route to take, but with this roadmap we guarantee no Texas child gets lost along the way."
When asked how much money will be provided for financial incentives, Grusendorf said 1 percent of the Foundation School Fund will be used to reward the best teachers or provide mentoring to teachers. This will add up to approximately $300 million, he said.
The Public Education Committee chair said recapture will be eliminated in 50 percent of all school districts, including Austin ISD. When asked if money for school facilities is included in the bill, Grusendorf said that is something that will be discussed further in the committee and may get folded into a separate bill.
When someone suggested that "school districts hate early school start dates," Grusendorf said he disagrees and reminds that beginning school on a uniform date each fall saves $85 million. "Let's use that to benefit kids," he said.
Grusendorf added that the bill creates more transparency in schools by requiring full disclosure of how money is spent at the campus level and at the district level. He said he wants to "move aggressively" on this issue because, "We don't have a relationship between cause and effect" in terms of money being spent.
Several legislators offered their support for HB 2. Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) praised Grusendorf and other House members for "working diligently to come up with effective solutions for Texas' public school system." He thanked every member who has put in "hard work and innovative solutions" on behalf of school reform.
It's a "real rarity when a bill is introduced with this much in it," said the House Speaker. "Normally a shell bill" is introduced when tackling a complex issue. But House leaders wanted a fleshed-out bill that legislators, school districts and citizens could review. He noted that HB 2 will be heard in the House Committee on Public Education next Tuesday and that the goal is to have the bill reach the House floor by the first or second week of March.
Craddick said HB 2 was designed so the House can pass it without a statewide property tax bill passing. "This will be a stand-alone bill" and will "withstand the court test," he said, noting it is on the 76-vote plan. The plan is to have all three school finance bills - HB 2, HB 3 (the revenue bill) and the related HJR - set on the House floor calendar for the same day, added the House Speaker.
Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Richardson), a member of the House Select Committee on Public School Finance during the interim, commended Craddick on his leadership and Grusendorf "for his ongoing efforts to build consensus on education reform." Many of the ideas in HB 2 "are ones that I have consistently advocated," he said. "This initiative affords both opportunities for cost saving and innovation in our schools."
Madden added that he looks forward to working with state leaders as the proposal moves through the legislative process. Ultimately, the bill will achieve "the full support of the Texas Legislature and our governor's enthusiastic assent," he said. "I think it is a great first step in moving toward the types of reforms that we need to accomplish."
"I applaud Chairman Grusendorf for moving forward on this most important issue - education and school finance," said Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano), chair of the Senate Education Committee. "Rep. Grusendorf and I have worked over the last two years and I'm pleased that our number one issue is now at the forefront of the legislature's agenda. As I've said before, the time to act is now."
Shapiro noted that HB 2 incorporates many of the same measures laid out in the Senate's "Texas Children First" plan. These measures include more money for schools, rewarding outstanding teachers, targeting low-performing schools and holding them more accountable, preventing students from dropping out, incorporating new technologies in the classroom, and better preparing students for college through accessibility to SAT and ACT tests.
"Since all of these measures are similar in scope, I am ever more confident that we will be able to properly and effectively address this most critical issue facing our state - the future of the schoolchildren of Texas," she said.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst also praised Grusendorf and Craddick for their leadership. "I am encouraged that less than a month into the Session, both the Senate and the House have laid out proposals that will begin to reform public education in Texas," he said.
Amid the showering of support for today's education reform plan were a handful of dissenters. Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) said while it will take some time to analyze today's proposal, "A cursory glance indicates that only the rhetoric has changed, as this bill closely mirrors the bill from last year."
Dunnam said the bill falls short because teacher pay is not increased; there is no new funding for Pre-K or Comp. Ed. programs; and the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" is not reduced, "but rather apparently, institutionalized in hold-harmless provisions." The Waco legislator noted that other legislators "are working hard to rapidly draft alternative solutions that will really meet Texans' goals regarding public education."
At least one consumer group was displeased with something Craddick told reporters earlier this week. Kathy Miller, president of Texas Freedom Network (TFN), called attention to comments made on Wednesday by Craddick that vouchers are too divisive to tackle early on in the legislative process this year. He said he was "sure there'll be an amendment" adding vouchers later to House education overhaul legislation, she said.
"Draining money from public schools through vouchers will be just as controversial later in the session as it is now," said Miller. "And time for passing a school finance bill will be even shorter then." The TFN President said schools are struggling to find the money they need to educate kids. "Vouchers would make the problem worse," she said. "It would be simply irresponsible to plot for a voucher amendment that is acknowledged to be divisive when the Legislature should unify in support of excellence in our neighborhood schools."