The system developed to fund public education in Texas needs a major overhaul, lawmakers said last week at a meeting of the state’s Select Committee on Public School Finance Weights, Allotments, and Adjustments.
“We need to find a better system that works for all of us,” said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, head of the Senate Education Committee and co-chair of the special select committee.
Shapiro said the allocation system that distributes state funds to local school districts is inequitable and considers some factors that have not been revised for almost 30 years. The funding formula is not based on the real cost of education, she said.
The public education system is funded with $50 billion a year in state, local, and federal money. Around five million students attend public schools in Texas.
The Legislature capped local districts’ taxing abilities several years ago in favor of a business tax, but the tax has not met revenue expectations since it was imposed.
Rep. Rob Eissler, R-Woodlands, said the funding system is too complex.
“We need to change our system so people understand it, because we don’t understand it,” he said.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said lawmakers should raise the state sales tax from its current 6.25% to fund public education rather than continue to rely on local property taxes.
Patrick said each 1 cent increase in the sales tax would bring in an additional $2.4 billion a year.
