The wide array of issues and options have been repeatedly studied during interims in recent years and are in wide circulation for legislators to consider. As with many subjects, the difficulty is in the details.

The current public school finance structure does what it was intended to do – equalize the ability of all school districts to generate similar amounts of revenue per student at similar tax rates. However, the Legislature has not maintained an appropriate and necessary level of funding. This failure has forced local property tax rates to skyrocket and caused the property wealthy districts to pay more into the system. The simplest and surest way to lower property taxes and let wealthier school districts keep more of the money they raise locally is to provide more funding.

Any new school finance plan or adjustments to the current system should enhance equitable spending of public education dollars, ensure weights accurately reflect the costs of education and enhance facilities funding assistance for local school districts.

Texas’ heavy reliance on property taxes to fund public schools has placed tremendous burden on local governments and taxpayers, prompted another round of litigation and emphasized Texas’ weak tax structure. However, the state should be cautious in using the sales tax to address funding deficiencies. A constitutional cap on the current sales tax rate should strongly be considered. In the alternative, increases in the state sales tax should be tied to population growth and/or the rate of inflation.