Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

The funding gap between the wealthiest school districts and the poorest school districts will go up under the Committee Substitute to House Bill 2, according to a new analysis by a school finance expert.

Paul Colbert, a consultant to El Paso ISD and Houston ISD, said he used Legislative Budget Board numbers in compiling spreadsheets that divide school districts into ten groups based on wealth and weighted averages. The spreadsheets have been given to Houston and El Paso senators in advance of Senate floor debate.

Colbert said his analysis provides two "striking" conclusions. Firstly, that little new money is being offered to school districts once the $1,000 "pass through" money is paid to non-teaching staff. And, secondly, that the elimination of recapture would more than offset a projected increase in equitable funding to the 92nd percentile during the next biennium, to the advantage of the wealthiest districts.

"What the analysis by the LBB shows is what everybody has been saying - that the level of new funding contained in the committee substitute is woefully inadequate," Colbert said. "On average, districts are going to get $66 per weighted student more in the new formula money. Out of that they are going to have to pay pass through money for non-teacher personnel. That will likely leave only $10 or $15 per student at most to cover all other expenses."

Colbert said the average school district would hardly have enough new funding to meet fast-rising energy and health care costs, nor new state and federal mandates.

Colbert's findings reflect concerns raised by the Coalition to Invest in Texas Schools about CSHB 2. In a May 6 letter to all senators, the Coalition, which represents every school district in Texas, said the "accreditation allotment" proposed for 2006-07 is about the same as current law provides for a district with a tax rate of $1.50.

"If the basic program is not funded appropriately, then districts will be forced to use "enrichment" funds to make up for the under-funding of the basic program or, in the more likely alternative, to continue to fund programs at a level below acceptable standards," the Coalition wrote. The letter was signed by Amy Beneski, associate executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, and Cathy Douglass, associate executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards.

Colbert analyzed CSHB 2 funding for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. The analysis shows that as the first five cents of local enrichment kicks in, in 2007, the funding gap between the wealthiest and poorest districts expands. Under current formulas, the average "advantage" in the wealthiest ten- percent of districts would be $762 in 2007, Colbert said. Under CSHB 2, that advantage rises to $888, he said.

"What my analysis shows is that for those favored 100 or so districts, the Highland Parks of the world, the elimination of recapture means gains far more to them than the proposed big jump up in equity to the 92nd percentile," Colbert said. "Sen. Todd Staples (R-Palestine) and the Equity Center did a remarkable job in getting equity up to 92 percent after one year. That is a significant change. But, doing away with recapture is even more significant in terms of the benefits it provides to the wealthiest districts. The impact of doing away with recapture is huge."

Colbert said the Senate version of the education bill is more equitable than the House version. However, both versions provided inadequate funding levels. "In 2005-06, districts will have about 1.5 percent in new money as a percentage of their total budget to pay for the pass through to non-teaching personnel and for all other non-salaried expenses," Colbert said. "There is no way they can do that without cannibalizing existing programs."

Colbert's expertise in school finance goes back a number of years. During the school finance reforms of 1984, he was a state representative from Houston and drafted the initial House and Senate versions of the finance part of House Bill 72. Before entering the House, Colbert was research director for the Senate Education Committee. Later, he spent eight years as CBO on the House Public Education Committee.