Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

On the heels of a recent court decision that the Texas school finance plan is unconstitutional, a visiting senator gave local educators his proposals for a more equitable system.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso gave an overview of what a state income tax could mean to funding Texas schools.

“A statewide education flat tax on income could raise $11.5 billion for education,” Shapleigh told the members Monday of the Sabine-Neches Administrators and School Board Members Assocation gathered at the John Gray Center at Lamar University, Beaumont.

The income tax, or statewide education flat tax, would also reduce property taxes by 90 percent.

Using figures calculated by the Citizens for Tax Justice using the income tax rate of the state of Kansas, Shapleigh said $34.6 billion would be generated in total revenue and property taxes would be reduced by $23.1 billion. The net for education would be $11.5 billion.

The Texas Constitution requires that a statewide income tax would have to be approved by voters and two-thirds of income tax revenue would have to be dedicated to property tax relief.

Port Arthur Independent School District Trustee Gregory Flores said the senator presented some interesting information.

“I can kind of agree with some of what he said,” Flores said. “Maybe an income tax with a guarantee that it would go strictly to education might work. But it would have to go to the voters to decide.”

Kansas, which is ranked 26th in income taxes per capita and 33rd in state and local general revenue, sets a tax rate after deductions of 3.5 percent for individuals with incomes of $21,000 to $51,000. For those earning $51,000 to $81,000, the rate jumps to 6.25 percent. Those in the highest income bracket, more than $81,000, the rate is 6.45 percent. The lowest paid earners, those making under $21,000, pay no state income tax.

Other options to raise revenue, like raising the taxes on cigarettes and gasoline and allowing video lottery would bring in less than $5 billion, short of the almost $10 billion Texas needs just to educate the new students entering the state every two years and bring Texas up to the national average of spending per pupil, Shapleigh said.

During a question and answer session, one local educator said he was opposed to the idea because the state cannot be trusted to spend the money on what is needed in individual districts.

Earlier Monday, the Commissioner of Education for the state of Texas, Sharon Neeley, addressed the Port Arthur Public School Foundation, and said she was not surprised by the recent court decision was found unconstitutional.

“I think the judge did his homework and judged by his conscience,” Neeley said. “But I think it is a sad day when we have to take those types of issues to the courthouse. We know that property owners need a break, so I urge everyone to contact their legislators. I know someone in this room will come up with the perfect solution.”