A consensus is developing across the political spectrum in Texas to use a broad-based business tax to shift some of the burden of financing public schools away from property taxpayers, state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, said Tuesday.

Calling the current business tax system "antiquated and unfair," Duncan said businesses that reap the benefit of a well-educated work force need to take more responsibility for educating their future employees.

Loopholes allow many Texas businesses to avoid taxation to the detriment of the state's ability to adequately fund public schools, he said.

"I believe there's momentum to change this," he said.

Duncan staked out his position at a school finance summit organized by the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. The roundtable discussion drew together Lubbock's delegation to the state Legislature as well as nearly all the county's superintendents.

Legislators will gather in Austin next month with public school finance high on the agenda.

After a special session on the issue failed to deliver a solution earlier this year, State District Judge John Dietz in Austin added a sense of urgency in September when he ruled the current school funding system inadequate and gave lawmakers a year to come up with a better system.

No one at Tuesday's meeting disagreed with the need to overhaul public schools' finances.

Duncan, a lawyer, said he hadn't reviewed the judge's decision from a legal standpoint, but "I know the system's broken from a political standpoint," he said.

State Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, urged legislators to look at a variety of funding solutions, including the feasibility of an income tax.

He said Tuesday that he's asked the state comptroller to research how much income tax the state would have to raise to completely offset property taxes as a school funding source.

"I don't think the public will be in support of it unless they have a trade-off they can see," Jones said.

Noting that any income tax would have to be approved by the voters, Duncan said he didn't think an income tax "would pass muster."

The current school funding system, dubbed "Robin Hood," relies heavily on local property taxes to fund Texas' schools. It also redistributes local tax money from rich school districts to poor school districts.

Dan Pope, the Lubbock businessman who spearheaded efforts this summer to pass a $98.8 million bond issue benefiting Lubbock Independent School District, agreed that businesses should bear more of the brunt.

He added, "If business is going to fund more of the cost, there's got to be a long-term vision."

Echoing a recommendation made last month by the Governor's Business Council, Pope suggested making teachers' salaries based on merit instead of tenure and seniority.

He also urged serious discussion on long-taboo subjects like school district consolidation.

Jones disagreed with the teacher salary proposal, saying some teachers won't be able to compete given the socioeconomic backgrounds of their students.

Legislators won't sign on to consolidation because of the impact school closures have on smaller communities, said Jay Burns, legislative director for state Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock.

Isett was in Austin on Tuesday and was unable to attend the summit.

"One of their concerns is they're in economic hard times as it is," Burns said. "If you consolidate with another district, you get rid of the town."

The state should instead promote a middle ground that conserves local districts' autonomy while encouraging cooperation across district lines to cut purchasing and administrative costs, he said.

As questions about funding and accountability continue to swirl, Steve Scott, Idalou ISD's assistant superintendent, said teachers and administrators at the local level need to get a clear message on how they're supposed to be accountable for the tax dollars they're given.

Conflicting accountability standards at the federal and state levels are whipsawing local school districts, Scott said.

"We're confused and that's not good," he said.