Patti Hawley doesn't think it makes sense to keep socking homeowners with higher school property taxes when an alternative tax would be fairer.

The University of Texas at San Antonio student emerged from a state senator's school finance presentation last week convinced that Texans should adopt a personal income tax, which could cut school property taxes by 90 percent and create dependable school funding to bring the state to the national average.

"It makes sense to me because you shouldn't be overtaxed on your home," Hawley said. "Everybody should have a house."

Hawley joined most of the students in Richard Gambitta's political science class in voting for an income tax at the end of an hourlong presentation by Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, who has made about 75 similar pitches around Texas.

Texas lawmakers in the past two years have failed five times, including three special legislative sessions, to address school funding and property tax cut issues. The Texas Supreme Court is expected to rule any day on a lower court's opinion that the current school funding system is inadequate and violates the state Constitution.

Perry opposes income tax

But any legislative fix is not expected to include an income tax. Gov. Rick Perry said an income tax is not an option when he appointed former Comptroller John Sharp last month to lead a committee that will examine the state's tax structure.
"How can we have a debate in the state of Texas when one option that will lower property taxes by 90 percent, pay for certified teachers in the classroom and provide a great early education system can't even be on the table?" Shapleigh said.

An income tax would require voter approval.

"The governor does not believe that the people of Texas would support an income tax," Perry spokesman Robert Black said. "He believes that it is a tax that kills economic development and punishes hard-working families."

The state's business community "probably will react fairly well" to an income tax if applied equally across the board, said North San Antonio Chamber President and CEO Duane Wilson, who attended Shapleigh's presentation.

The Legislature always struggles to raise taxes, he said, "but at some point in time we've got to do something to fix education. Our kids are not coming out educated. We can't fill jobs in San Antonio right now because we don't have the quality education levels."

An income tax is "on the horizon," Wilson said, not for current state leaders, but others will emerge to "put it out to the voters and we'll see what they will do." But Wilson said reform also must be part of the school funding solution, citing school district consolidation and cuts in administrative expenses as examples.

Public education lags

Texas ranks below the national average in teacher salaries, student-per-teacher ratio, funding per pupil, SAT scores and high school graduation rates, Shapleigh said, citing national surveys.
"It seems incredible that we're so far behind in education," UTSA student Hawley said. "I think it's high time we bit the bullet. Without doing something, we're taking education away from future generations."

She speculated on why many Texans remain hostile to an income tax.

"It's one of their inalienable rights," Hawley said. "But it disregards your responsibility for your children."

Texas is one of seven states without an income tax. Its reliance on sales and property taxes gives Texas the fourth-highest sales tax rate in the country and the 15th-highest property tax burden, according to national surveys.

In addition to lagging other states in education funding and achievement, Texas faces challenges with a public school enrollment that is becoming more expensive to educate because an expanding majority of students now come from low-income families.

Texas also adds some 30,000 new students each year who have difficulty navigating the English language. Those students also are more costly to teach, according to state studies.

In urban areas, minorities make up the vast majority of first-grade classes — 93 percent in the Dallas area and nearly 90 percent in the Houston area, Shapleigh said, citing Texas Education Agency statistics for the 2003-04 school year.

'Sin' taxes fall short

The UTSA students in Shapleigh's participatory presentation overwhelmingly supported tax increases on cigarettes, beer and liquor. But the revenue from those increases fell far short of producing enough revenue to boost teacher salaries to the national average.
Texas teacher pay falls $6,121 below the national average, according to a new American Federation of Teachers study. And it would take more than $5 billion in new revenue to cut the existing $1.50 property tax rate for school operation and maintenance by one-third to $1 per $100 evaluation.

School districts constantly struggle to cover the costs of educating children, said Katie Reed, a member of the Northside School District board and president of the Texas Association of School Boards.

Reed, who attended Shapleigh's presentation, said she paid an income tax in five other states before moving to Texas.

"I have no problem with the income tax," she said.

But Texas is a long way from swapping property taxes for an income tax, she said.

"It's going to be a long process to ever get the people in the state of Texas to understand that this is a better way to fund things, especially education," Reed said.

Shapleigh told students they could help change things by running for public office.

"Democracy is a participatory sport. Strap on the helmet and get out there," he said.

Northside Deputy Superintendent George Torres said his district has cut $38 million in recent years and struggles to keep up with enrollment growth and the need for more schools.

School officials are eager for the court ruling "to see what direction, if any, is given to the Legislature with regards to the adequacy issue," Torres said.

Most lawyers involved in the case doubt the court will force the Legislature to spend more money on schools. And without an income tax option, "that's what causes the challenges for you," Torres said.