Our Fix Needs a Fix
March 2, 2007
Austin, start repairing school finance 'solution'.
Written by DOUG J. SWANSON, Dallas Morning News
When GOP Rep. John Davis recently proposed making it easier for eligible families to sign up for the state's health insurance program for children, he drew applause for trying to restore funding cut from the program in 2003, when a budget deficit led to funding nightmares. We, too, are glad about his proposal. But investments like that in Texas' future are getting hard to come by this session. Why? The school finance plan approved last year is soaking up too many dollars. Legislators rightly created a new business tax and raised cigarette taxes so the state could assume a greater share of school spending. The actions were aimed at lessening schools' reliance on local property taxes, which the Supreme Court considered unconstitutional. But the solution hasn't worked as hoped. Instead of a fairly even swap of new state taxes for local property taxes, legislators are making a sizable slice into general revenues to pay for the state's higher share of school spending. We listed some reasons for the snafu last week. Today, we want to focus on how Austin can keep this thing from going off the rails. •First, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick should start thinking about naming a committee to work on this problem after the session ends. If the business tax doesn't produce enough revenue, then that panel must find an appropriate rate. We can't keep borrowing from general revenue to make school funding work. It isn't fair to the state's colleges, hospitals and environment, all of which depend on that money. •Second, legislators should forget about exempting companies from the business tax. Some firms have been trying to wiggle out. But there's no way exemptions are justified, not with Austin's cash flow problem. •Third, legislators should invest now the $3 billion that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst instead wants to set aside until 2009, when the last installment of the swap occurs. We respect Mr. Dewhurst's desire to plan ahead. But that money needs to be used by this session in ways to improve the state. For example, if legislators limit college tuition hikes, they need to adequately finance the UTs and A&Ms. The school funding solution has redeemable elements. But if the new taxes don't produce enough money, it's time to revisit the arrangement.
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