By Varghese Jacob
Dallas, TX –
The "Robin Hood" plan is criticized greatly throughout Texas. It relies profoundly on property taxes to fund the Texas public school system and is detested by many Texans. Many have proposed to destroy "Robin Hood" and its practice of transferring funds from wealthy districts to poorer or inferior ones; however, no major breakthrough or back-up plan has been created after countless years of bickering and arguing. Why does this hugely unpopular system still exist if the public despises it? It is because the alternative, a state income tax, is loathed even more than "Robin Hood." Unless a clear alternative or a state income tax is created, eliminating "Robin Hood" only hurts us in the future. It has helped needy school districts that require a great deal of assistance because their own property taxes can not support them.
"Robin Hood" was introduced 13 years ago as a temporary solution to a complicated problem of school funding. Only a personal income tax could generate the amount of money needed to fund our schools and give equal opportunities to every Texan. The Lieutenant Governor at that time, Bob Bullock, realized the only immediate solution, so he proposed a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to adopt a state income tax. The legislators knew that the majority of Texans hated the idea of an income tax and did not attempt to enact it. When compared with other states, a substantial amount of their educational funding is derived from state income taxes. The Texas funding system lacks this huge chunk of income and is forced to rely heavily on property taxes to fund their educational system.
"Robin Hood" has given needy school districts the financial support they require to bring up their schools to meet the standards and help their students to obtain an adequate and equal opportunity education. There are some school districts with a poor population that can not support their schools via property taxes from their districts alone. They need the help of wealthier districts to share their wealth. Since the state can not agree on other sources of income, it is their only choice to give equity in education.
Increased funding helps hire better trained teachers who will want to teach their students. Increased funding will create a better environment for the students which will motivate them to try harder and give the effort that is needed to succeed in the real world. "Robin Hood" has provided the increased funding to the poorer districts.
Many Texas detest the system created by the "Robin Hood" plan; however, they are unwilling to turn to the other option: a state income tax. State legislators and the public need to focus on an alternative solution to "Robin Hood" before destroying it completely. The Texas school system requires all the money it can get and "Robin Hood" provides that source of income. It has helped the schools more than it has hurt them. The old clich of "something is better than nothing" serves as a prime example for the situation our schools are in.
Varghese Jacob, a senior at Nimitz High School (Irving, Texas) under Master Teacher Helen Bradley, is the runner-up in KERA's fall 2005 North Texas Student Voices Editorial Contest. The contest was held as a kick-off for KERA's Student Voices documentary, "High School: The Best and The Rest," which featured North Texas Student Voices students speaking out about the controversies involved in funding public schools.
North Texas Student Voices is part of the National Student Voices Project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania with funding from the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. The project is the youth component of KERA's Voters Voice 2005, a multimedia election initiative created to give North Texas citizens a voice in local issues. In the year leading up to the 2006 Texas gubernatorial election, KERA's Voter's Voice project is focusing its coverage on education and school finance issues.
Visit KERA's North Texas Student Voices website
Visit the Annenberg Public Policy Center's North Texas Student Voices website
More government issues and election coverage from KERA's Voter's Voice
Contact KERA's News and Public Affairs staff about this editorial