The eventual class-action lawsuit over TX public school funding

[PDittie]

This post from Gary Scharrer at the SAEN ought to be required reading for every single state elected official.

http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2011/05/school-funding-litigation-gop-senator-offers-opening-statement-2/

We've been all through this before, too. Here's Molly Ivins from 2000, reminding us of the history of the last class-action lawsuit over inequitable education funding, fought during the mid-80's to mid-'90's:

Everyone knew that something would have to be done about equalizing spending on the public schools, and everyone knew it would be a long, hard fight.

Gov. Mark White had the singularly bright idea to name Ross Perot to head a commission on reforming the schools. Perot understood one important thing: We would never get Texans to pay more for public schools unless we could guarantee them better schools and prove that we were getting them. Thus the system of testing and accountability was born.

Perot put together a package of reform bills that mandated smaller class sizes and expanded pre-kindergarten programs — the most crucial reforms. Bob Bullock, then the state comptroller, worked out a formula for how the state could more equalize spending between rich and poor districts.

White called a special session to do nothing but education reform, and it was a donnybrook. One of Perot's reforms was "no-pass, no-play" — if you weren't passing all your school subjects, you couldn't play football! It was a revolutionary notion in Texas.

Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby did heavy lifting for the reforms. Perot hired his own lobbyists to help pass the bills. It was a tremendous effort and a narrow win. Then the state went broke.

The oil crash of the mid-'80s left Texas in bad shape, so the equalization formula didn't advance much. The Edgewood case was still dragging on, and in 1987, it won at last.

In 1989, Gov. Bill Clements had to sign a huge tax increase to fund the agreement to equalize spending. Then came Son of Edgewood, with the courts again siding with the poor districts. Gov. Ann Richards proposed the Robin Hood plan, taking from rich districts to give to the poor. Another horrendous fight. A modified version of Robin Hood finally passed.

What the Rand story found was that despite all the screaming and yelling, what Texas did is what works: smaller class sizes, early childhood education (though we still don't have kindergarten statewide) and equalized spending.

And here we are back again. Repeating history.

Which teaches us that some collection of sensible, reasonable Republicans (like Deuell, in this case) is going to have join Democrats and straighten this mess out again. It's going to take about ten years to fix, and another ten to see if it's working. Meanwhile, a generation of Texas schoolchildren gets fucked.

But I'm just not going to hold my breath waiting for that bipartisan cooperation to bust out like May flowers. You?

[Horse with no Name]

1. Excellent article.

Thank you.

I am thankful we live in a small community. This cannot impact us the way it will impact the larger districts..simply because we do not have enough kids (yet) to overload our classrooms.

[sonias]

2. Same as it ever was

This is always the way Texas does things. Equal rights for all students, voting rights, prison overcrowding, environmental rights, property rights - you name it. The only way Texas does anything is that it is forced to do it by the courts.

The Lege will never act to do anything the just way.

:grr:

[plumbob]

3. Too right. And I fear that it's going to take longer than I've got left

to get things even back to reasonable again.

After 3 decades in the classroom, I hate that.