Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN – Texas Supreme Court justices may think the state spends enough on public schools, but a new national comparison shows that Texas was the only state that decreased average spending per student last year and has slipped to 40th among the states.

The study released Monday by the National Education Association indicated that Texas spent an average of $7,142 per student in the 2004-05 school year, a 1 percent drop from the previous year and nearly $1,500 below the national average.

That figure dropped the state from 36th to 40th in the teacher group's annual Rankings and Estimates of School Statistics for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Teachers' salaries took a slight hit as Texas dropped one spot to 33rd among the states, with an average salary of $41,009. That figure was nearly $6,800 below the national average.

In its school finance decision two weeks ago, the state Supreme Court rejected the arguments of hundreds of school districts and ruled that public education is adequately funded by the Legislature. However, the high court warned that the funding level is only barely adequate and could be found unconstitutional in the future.

"The Texas Supreme Court just warned the Legislature that we are drifting toward constitutional inadequacy, and this new data indicates that our state education investments may have already failed to make the grade and slipped into that category," said Donna New Haschke, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, the NEA affiliate in the state.

Lawmakers failed during their regular session and two special sessions this year to overhaul the state's troubled school finance system. School districts and powerful business groups worked separately to defeat proposals that called for only a minimal increase in education funding and new taxes on business to support schools.

Gov. Rick Perry is expected to call another special session on the topic in the spring as the state tries to meet a June 1 deadline set by the Supreme Court to fix the tax system used to pay for schools. The court said the school property tax system has evolved into a state property tax, which is prohibited by the Texas Constitution.

The governor's press secretary, Kathy Walt, questioned the accuracy of the NEA figures Monday, saying they don't reflect the small funding increase that the Legislature approved for public schools for the 2004-05 school year.

"We think their numbers are wrong," Ms. Walt said, suggesting that the education association may have relied on preliminary figures for Texas and other states instead of obtaining final numbers for its analysis.

"Texas put more money into the system last year. If that money didn't make it into classrooms, then a lot of parents are going to have questions about why it didn't," she said.

Mr. Perry has cited statistics from the annual NEA survey in the past to support his claim that education spending in Texas has been more than adequate.

But his use of the data last year included some creative computing by his aides that added school construction bond payments and teacher pension contributions to the actual operating expenditures of schools cited in the NEA study.

Because Texas school districts have massive bond debt compared with other states, the recalculated figure pushed Texas near the top in spending – $10,400 – at least according to the governor's spending list.

Representatives for the NEA and its state affiliate defended the accuracy of the comparisons, noting they have been compiled the same way for several years and reflect information that is furnished to them by education officials in each state. The most recent figures from the Texas Education Agency indicated that schools spent an average of $6,861 per student in 2003.

Ms. Haschke said educators are concerned that "if the politicians opt for a quick fix in next spring's special session instead of developing a responsible plan, things will be even worse next year."

California, which has student demographics similar to those in Texas, spent $7,815 per student last year – $673 more than Texas. Florida spent about $100 per student less than Texas – $7,035 – but Florida increased spending by 5 percent over the previous year while Texas cut spending 1 percent, according to the NEA report.