Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Once again, Texans got lofty words from their legislative leaders about improving public education, but little else.

The Legislature had the opportunity — and the incentive thanks to a 2004 court ruling — to create a school financing system worthy of Texas children. One that would grow with rapid enrollment increases in school districts across the state. Central Texas, with several rapid-growth districts (Leander, Round Rock, Hays and Pflugerville, to name a few), certainly would have benefitted from that approach.

Students increasingly are coming to school with limited English skills; just look at the Austin schools, with their abundance of students needing bilingual education. The state needs a financing system to deal with those demographic changes that are happening here and in El Paso, Dallas and Amarillo. Lawmakers have seen the data on high school graduation rates, and they know dropouts are a problem. They know, too, the dire need for more classrooms and facilities: The number of students attending public schools in Texas is expected to double in the next 35 years.

Sadly, neither the House nor the Senate produced a plan that adequately addresses those challenges.

The Senate plan passed this week is better than the House version. It establishes a clear funding source that provides schools $2.8 billion in new money over two years, including money for teacher pay raises. And it gives local districts more control over their school dollars. But the new money barely keeps up with inflation. Although the House's online testing measure would improve the state's standardized testing system, the Senate plan might be more realistic because it phases in online testing.

Both plans lack the amount of money a legislative committee recommended for a new financing system. The plans also fall short of what state District Judge John Dietz of Travis County ruled was necessary for the state to meet its constitutional obligations for educating all students. That is evident by the huge gaps in achievement between white and minority students, and between affluent and poor students.

No one is suggesting that the Legislature write a blank check for education. But state leaders certainly must prioritize student achievement and be realistic about those costs if schools are to improve. Instead, public schools were sandwiched between the Legislature's greater priorities — reducing taxes and curtailing the so-called Robin Hood provision that requires property-wealthy districts to share local tax revenue with property-poorer districts.

The two plans now go to a conference committee comprised of members from each chamber. Epiphanies are rare, so Texas schools are likely to get a patched up system that continues to draw legal challenges instead of a forward-looking system that improves public schools.