More Money For Education In Texas ?

(Image above is from the website my.hsj.org.)

During the 2011 biennial session of the Texas legislature, the Republican slashed education funding in the state by a whopping $5.4 billion (in spite of the fact that Texas already ranked nearly last in per student funding for education). The result was as predicted -- with thousands of teachers (and other school employees) being fired and class sizes growing substantially. And even after cutting teachers and increasing class sizes, some school districts had to raise local taxes to keep their schools going.

It was hoped that since the state is in better financial shape now (with sales taxes and oil& gas taxes being higher than expected -- and the state's Rainy Day Fund ballooning) that funding could be restored in this session of the legislature. But the initial budget proposed by the Republican-controlled legislature only put a disappointing $1.9 billion in additional funding for education -- far below the amount that had been cut in 2011.

The Democrats in the legislature didn't think that was adequate. They didn't have the numbers to amend the budget and add more funding for education, but they did have enough power to block something (if they stuck together). They chose to block funding for water projects in the state (a critical need for the water-scarce state with a growing population). They refused to allow the water bill to come to the floor unless education funds were increased -- and they were partially successful. The Republicans added more funds, and the additional money for education now totals $3.9 billion -- $2 billion more than the original budget called for.

These Democrats are celebrating their accomplishment, and they probably deserve to do a little celebrating. The new money for education is significantly higher than what the Republicans initially wanted to do -- and more than I expected they would be able to get. But that celebration should be tempered because:

* Only $3.4 billion is earmarked for school (with the other $0.5 billion going to teacher retirement), and that still leaves funding $2 billion less than was cut in 2011. With a growing enrollment, it is doubtful that class sizes will decrease (or many new teachers hired). They have just stopped the situation from growing any worse than it currently is.

* The bill still must be voted on in both houses of the legislature, and even though Republicans have agreed to it, they could still change their minds.

* The governor is not yet on board with the additional funding for education -- and even if the bill passes the legislature, he could veto it.

Don't get me wrong. I applaud what the Democrats have done in restoring $3.4 billion for schools to the budget, and I hope it gets approved and signed into law. But we must not get fooled into thinking that this solves the problem of education funding in this state. Even if the new funding is approved, Texas will still be near (or at) the bottom of all states in education funding. Much more needs to be done.