By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter
Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter: For years, educators and legislators have said the so-called Robin Hood law - the state's 10-year-old rule that takes money from property wealthy districts and sends it to property poor ones - is broken and needs repair. Representative Grusendorf's House Bill 5 would get rid of, or "sunset" Robin Hood, by 2005.
Kent Grusendorf, Texas State Representative: This is a temporary fix, while trying to solve the bigger problem; and that's going to require some tax restructuring, property tax relief and finding a way to put more state money into education funding. You really don't solve the school finance crisis unless you also address the property tax issue. They're way too high.
Zeeble: Property taxes fund public education in Texas. In addition to complaints about high taxes, John Connolly - who heads the Texas School Coalition of 118, mostly property-wealthy, school districts - says nearly 40% of the state's 1,040 school districts have reached the $1.50 tax rate allowed by law.
John Connolly, Executive Director, Texas School Coalition: Probably about 80% of them are property-poor. We've essentially maxed out in our capacity to generate revenue. The nature of the current system is, it creates a system that forces that to happen.
Zeeble: Connolly says equity of school funding, which Robin Hood was designed to address, has greatly improved. But he and others say more money's needed to maintain quality education, fix struggling districts, or meet the challenge of new, tougher state tests. Texas education funding already lags behind most other states. Connolly wants a tax hike, but he's realistic.
Connolly: An income tax tends to be anti-Texan. 46 out of 50 states have an income tax. So they're public services with three full taxes. Texas is doing it with two, and because of that, our property and sales taxes are among the highest in country.
Zeeble: So, with no new income sources and the need for additional money, the quickest fix seems to be Grusendorf's temporary bill. It calls for an extra $100 per student in the first year, $200 the next, and then it's over. Connolly supports it and so does a majority of board members on the Texas School Board Association. Spokesperson Catherine Clark says that's because it's the only bill out there.
Catherine Clark, Spokesperson, Texas School Board Association: We don't have a reason to expect more, given the budget deficits. So this is something we're supportive of, and we've been asking legislators for more resources.
Zeeble: Some organizations, including the Equity Center, with nearly 600 school district members, worry funding fairness will be sacrificed by eliminating Education Chapter 41, or the Robin Hood law.
Dr. Wayne Pierce, Executive Director, The Equity Center: It takes away the mechanism that helps insure a level playing field for all Texas kids. "41" should not be repealed until a new or better alternative is enacted.
Zeeble: Legislator Grusendorf isn't worried.
Grusendorf: The argument to have a solution before you sunset something would mean you'd never sunset anything. We do this all the time in Austin and we never know what we'll put in place. That's what the sunset process is.
Zeeble: Grusendorf says his bill is all about process. It's not just about eliminating Robin Hood, but replacing it with something equitable for schools, affordable for citizens and companies, and legal in the courts' eyes. The representative says this is just the start of a complex solution to one of the state's most complex issues; funding public education. Grusendorf expects the issue will end up in a special session where the pros and cons of more proposals will be compared before lawmakers decide on a new method to pay for Texas education. For KERA 90.1, I'm Bill Zeeble.
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