Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

What could your school district do with an extra $50 million?

That’s how much more the Birdville school district could have for instruction this year if the state allowed it to spend as much per student as the Northwest school district does. For that amount, the district could add about 1,000 teachers or buy each of its 22,600 students a laptop for school and another for home, district officials said.

State funding guidelines place Birdville’s per-student spending at $4,588; Northwest’s is $6,460.

The disparity statewide is large: The spending cap for the 400-student Red Lick school district in Texarkana is $3,657, but for the even-smaller Westbrook district, midway between Midland and Abilene, it’s $12,725.

Such unequal spending is one more problem with Texas’ school funding system, which was overhauled in 2006 to lower property tax rates. School districts complain loudly that the system doesn’t allow them to cover increasing expenses, such as utilities and gas. Some school administrators urge lawmakers to level off spending per student statewide at an average of $5,000.

"That would be of huge benefit to Birdville," said Quentin Burnett, Birdville’s associate superintendent for finance. "Our problem is the inequity."

Local legislators agree that problems exist but say prospects for repairs are doubtful for the upcoming session.

"As a former teacher, I believe that every penny towards education is a wise investment," state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said. "However, I am cautioning everyone that it is going to be a very tough budget session."

Increasing costs

State lawmakers set up the per-student expenditure target to offset money schools might have lost in the effort to grant property owners tax relief. The spending targets were based on instruction costs in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years and whether the district was urban, rural or in-between.

But area school districts, including Arlington and Fort Worth, are now grappling with multimillion-dollar budget deficits.

The disparity in per-student spending has become harder to accept. They said the state formula:

Uses out-of-date revenue information and reflects spending anomalies from particular school years.

Doesn’t fully compensate for the increasing costs of necessities like gas, utilities and insurance that are beyond a district’s control.

Doesn’t include money for new unfunded or partially funded state mandates, such as increased math classes and bus evacuation training.

Doesn’t account for growing special populations that must meet rising state standards, such as bilingual and low-income students.

Jon Graswich, Northwest’s chief financial officer, said his district’s per-student spending target is so high because values in the district grew strongly during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. Nevertheless, he agreed that the funding system has problems.

"We are concerned with the education of all children in the state of Texas, and this is a systemwide issue," Graswich said.

Legislative agenda

District leaders from the Birdville and Hurst-Euless-Bedford school districts met in October with Nelson and Republican state Reps. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and Todd Smith of Euless to discuss legislative issues. Per-student spending was the first and most discussed topic.

Hancock, a former Birdville school district trustee and Richland High School graduate, said the system is not perfect and needs to be modified. But he said the so-called target expenditures will probably not be a main topic for the upcoming session.

"I believe that the issue will be addressed; however, the status of the state budget and the ramifications from the hurricane season will take precedence," Hancock said.

Meanwhile, some districts will have to continue making do with less while others, such as the 226-student Westbrook district, get far more.

Westbrook Superintendent Todd Burleson said the district spends a lot per student because of high property values propped up by mineral rights. To compensate, the district paid the state $1.8 million last year to distribute to other schools, he said.

But the district also started a trial program two years ago to buy laptop computers for students. "We’ve been riding a crest for the past three years," Burleson said. "We know it won’t continue."

Wide disparities In 2006, state lawmakers tied district’s per-student spending to spending levels in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years and whether the district was urban, rural or in-between.


District                                   Amount
Azle                                          $5,134
Arlington                                  $4,627
Birdville                                   $4,588
Carroll                                     $5,615
Crowley                                   $4,693
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw    $5,120
Fort Worth                               $4,764
Grapevine-Colleyville           $5,270
Hurst-Euless-Bedford          $5,084
Keller                                       $4,909
Lake Worth                             $5,009
Mansfield                                $4,736
Northwest                               $6,460
Source: Texas Education Agency