On Tuesday, November 22^nd the Texas Supreme Court issued their ruling on the lawsuit brought by PISD and nearly 300 other Texas school districts. 

THE ISSUES AND THE DECISIONS:

1)        ISSUE:  The majority of Texas school districts are cutting their education budgets to the point that educational requirements outlined in the Texas constitution are not being met.  Therefore, without more funding, the Texas Education System has become unconstitutional.

SUPREME COURT RULING: Disagreement:  Current levels of funding ARE constitutional at current levels, but only “barely adequate”.

2)      ISSUE:  Poor Texas school districts do not have sufficient funding for school buildings and facilities.

SUPREME COURT RULING: Disagreement: Current levels of funding ARE constitutional at current levels, but only “barely adequate”.

3)      ISSUE:  The System of funding schools through local property taxes is unconstitutional because most local districts have reached a cap, which has been set by the state legislature which means that the local property tax system has evolved into a statewide property tax, which is prohibited by the Texas constitution.

SUPREME COURT RULING: Agreement:  It is unconstitutional to fund Texas school districts through a system of local property taxes that have reached the maximum cap, which is set by the legislature.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

What did the Court Say?

The Justices agreed with the school districts that the maximum property tax rate they can charge - $1.50 per $100 valuation – violates the Texas Constitution’s prohibition on the statewide property tax because many districts are at or near that cap.  They rejected two other arguments – that state funding for education is too low to achieve the constitutional requirement for a “general diffusion of knowledge” and that poor districts don’t have access to sufficient funding for school facilities.

What must the Legislature do?

Simply put, overhaul the tax system that pays for schools.  Lawmakers could just increase the cap, though the court warned that that’s not a long-term solution.  Most likely, lawmakers will craft a play similar to what they worked on all year – cuts in property taxes, with higher taxes on businesses and consumers to replace the revenue.  If the legislature does not act by June 1, the court said, state spending on schools must cease.

Is there any further appeal?

No, the state Supreme Court has the final say on matters stemming from the state constitution.

Will there be more funding for public education?

The Supreme Court said current funding levels are adequate, but only barely so.  That means the Legislature does not have to immediately pump billions of new dollars into education, but lawmakers will have to gradually increase funding or improve efficiency to avoid future violations of the court order.

How does this affect “Robin Hood”?

The court did not directly address requirements that property-wealthy districts share revenue with poorer ones, though the Legislature could curtail the requirements as part of an overall school-finance and tax package.

When might lawmakers meet?

Gov. Rick Perry, who has sole power to call a special session of the Legislature, did not say when he would do so.  But, according to most legislative analysts, he will almost certainly wait until after primary elections in March,  so as not to disrupt the active campaigns currently underway.