By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
It's deja vu all over again with House Democrats floating a public school reform bill they say will cure all the ills in public education and meet the demands of the courts.
On the eve of the beginning of the First Called Session of the 79th Texas Legislature, a handful of Democratic House members laid out their plan in HB 15 that includes most of the "Learn and Live" plan they tried to run with during the 79th Regular Session.
"This really isn't our first rodeo," said Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-Waco), noting that HB 15 that was filed today will better Texas public schools, provide local property tax relief and provide higher pay for Texas teachers.
"Democrats presented a detailed plan with broad bipartisan support during the regular session," said State Democratic Party Chair Charles Soechting. "The Democratic plan to boost public school funding by $6 billion, increase accountability, and cut local property taxes for the average Texas family by 42 percent was denied even a hearing by Republican Leadership."
Soechting said the Democratic plan should now set the agenda for the special session, and is likely to throw his support behind HB 15.
Dunnam said the bill meets every one of the issues in the "call" of the special session issued Saturday by Gov. Rick Perry. "We stand ready to move Texas schools forward," said Dunnam, noting the public school issues to be debated in the special session should represent a "policy change, not a political change."
The Waco Democrat said HB 15 improves equity to ensure that every child in Texas has the tools they need for a proper education, ensure "real" property tax relief, raises teacher pay to the national average and provides for school funding that will meet the needs not only for today, but also for tomorrow. He said the proposal also recognizes that "all children do not begin their education at the same starting point," provides for school renovations and upgrades and requires both openness and accountability by school districts.
Dunnam said the bill also complies with the court order of State District Judge John Dietz that has been in effect for almost a year. He added that any proposal's first criteria should be that it resolves the issues the judge said need to be addressed after he declared the current school finance plan unconstitutional.
Saying the bill is "about putting the dollars where they are needed most," Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) said the bill will increase teacher pay by $4,000 over the next two years and add $400 the first year of the biennium and $800 the second year per teacher as incentives for teachers "to tackle the hardest problems" by serving as mentors or serving where there is the greatest need. He said the bill also provides for increases in comp ed and bilingual allotments, facilities funding, a master teacher program, Pre-K and Ninth Grade Initiatives, reading and math initiatives and also ensures adequate funding for gifted and talented programs, special education and transportation. Additionally, Hochberg said the proposed legislation "approaches 100 percent equity."
On the tax side of the legislation, said Hochberg, the bill provides for a $1.25 cap on property tax rates. He said that "restores discretion, which really means power," for taxpayers to decide what special programs they need for their districts and what they want to pay for. The bill also provides for increasing the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $45,000, which the Houston Democrat says gives the average homeowner a "better deal" than a straight tax rate cut.
Noting that the Legislature has addressed school finance during the 78th Regular Session and a subsequent 78th Special Session and then in the recently-completed 79th Regular Session, Coleman said lawmakers should focus on a solution that benefits both the schoolchildren of Texas and the state. He said there should be no thought given to a solution that is not long-term. The people of Texas "want their schools improved and they want their children to learn. That's about the future of our workforce and the future of the economy."
The focus of late regarding a solution to the long-term school finance dilemma has been a matter of "trying as opposed to doing," said Coleman. "We're here to DO."
Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin) said "under no circumstances" would parents in his district accept a school finance solution that "reduces the resources to their schools and their children." He said HB 15 would drive benefits of property tax reduction directly to homeowners by increasing their homestead exemptions.
Strama said HB 15 appeals to rural school districts and that it should also appeal to his Republican colleagues because of its benefits to schools, schoolchildren and homeowners.
When questions arose regarding the governor's vetoing of funding for the Texas Education Agency from SB 1 as a means of forcing the Legislature's hand to get them back to Austin to work on a public school finance solution, Coleman pointed out that all line item veto dollars go back into the budget and are available for budget execution. Thus, he said, all dollars in Article III funding that were vetoed could be redistributed by budget execution approval of the Legislative Budget Board and the governor. "In terms of schools shutting down based on no dollars in the fall, that's unlikely," he said, "unless they decide they don't' want to fund public education in the next budget year."
Coleman said Texans have said they are willing to pay more for better schools. "This is a plan that provides better schools and better education for children."
The proposals that are now in HB 15 were part of a proposal in the 79th Regular Session that had bipartisan support in the House, said Dunnam. He said this plan probably had 90-100 votes on the floor, but added that it never went anywhere because the "direction of the leadership was elsewhere." He said this proposal is the "easiest one" to "get moving on."