Tag Archives: school finance

Waiting for Rick (and Greg, and David)

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey breaks out his crystal ball and looks ahead to the 2014 election. Remember this: In his long history in state politics — closing in on three decades — [Rick] Perry has run for everything he said he was … Continue reading →

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How long will those school finance lawsuits take?

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That depends in part on whether they all get heard together or not. The massive lawsuit over the state’s method of financing schools, scheduled for trial beginning Oct. 22, could continue into January if two challenges by charter schools are … Continue reading →

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A cheat sheet for the school finance lawsuits

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a useful guide to the six (so far!) lawsuits that have been filed over school finance. Texas’ latest round of school finance litigation adds some new players to the courtroom, with interests that are more varied than … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit #6

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were six. The Texas Charter School Association announced Tuesday that it would enter the legal fray, arguing that the state has short-changed charter schools because it does not provide funding for facilities. “Just because a parent puts … Continue reading →

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Two more ways to divert money from public schools

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Number One: Taxpayer-funded scholarships to private schools. When the Georgia legislature passed a private school scholarship program in 2008, lawmakers promoted it as a way to give poor children the same education choices as the wealthy. The program would be … Continue reading →

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The Parent PAC slate

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned some of the candidates that have been endorsed by the Texas Parent PAC in this post, but since then they have released their full slate of endorsees. Texas Senate S.D. 9: Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless  www.toddsmithfortexas.com S.D. 11: Dave … Continue reading →

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Another story about parents and education cuts

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I really want to believe that there’s an uprising in the works and that the Lege could be a very different place for the better next year, but I’m reserving judgment on that for now. Deep cuts in school funding … Continue reading →

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TAB joins school finance litigation

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

But not as a force for good. The Texas Association of Business announced today that it will join a school finance lawsuit against the state, demanding a study of Texas school system efficiency. “The Constitution of Texas calls for the … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit to start October 22

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The school finance lawsuit will go to trial beginning Oct. 22, state district Judge John Dietz decided, and lawyers in the case agreed to a schedule for exchanging briefs. That agreement resulted in a status hearing being … Continue reading →

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School finance litigation gets underway

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We ought to get a decision in the school finance lawsuits by the end of the year. This case has become the largest of its kind in Texas’ decades-long history of school finance litigation. The school districts that have signed … Continue reading →

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Electing educators

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds good, but there are a couple of things missing. More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats who have sat on school boards are running for the Texas House this year, and a backlash over spending cuts and standardized … Continue reading →

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The other elephant in the room

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Patti Kilday Hart writes about the Supreme Court taking up the issue once again of UT’s admissions policies. The Supreme Court’s willingness to consider the case signals that it may once again weigh in on how university admissions officers do … Continue reading →

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We have a long history of screwing public schools in this state

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been meaning to post about this Texas Observer story about the current status of school finance, the litigation challenging it, and the story of how we got here. Here’s a little local angle to illustrate one of the many … Continue reading →

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How you can help support policies and funding for public schools

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, sent by Sue Dimenn Deigaard: Over the past week I have heard several legislators make the misleading claim that they increased funding for public education this past session.  As a parent with a child that is in … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit #5

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The plaintiffs keep on coming. A lawsuit by a small group of parents claims Texas is not getting enough bang for its educational buck, and asks the state’s courts to address inefficiencies in how education funding is spent. Attorneys plan … Continue reading →

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Let’s party like it’s 2007!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good news: The improving economy and steadily increasing sales tax receipts may mean that we won’t have another budget apocalypse in 2013. Bad news: The Republicans in the Lege will use this as an excuse to avoid fixing the state’s … Continue reading →

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Calling for a special session

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It started with the Texas State Teachers Association. The Texas State Teachers Association today urged Gov. Rick Perry to call the Legislature into special session now to appropriate $2.5 billion from the Rainy Day Fund and head off another round … Continue reading →

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As always, the hole is bigger than we thought

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how the Republicans in the Lege underfunded Medicaid by $4.5 billion, which they will have to tap the Rainy Day Fund in 2013 to deal with, in order to make the budget for this biennium appear to be “balanced”? … Continue reading →

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Don’t go counting school finance lawsuit money yet

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is very likely to have to do something about school finance soon, but “soon” is not the same as “right now”. Houston ISD counsel David Thompson was exuding confidence Saturday that Texas school districts will prevail … Continue reading →

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A field guide to the school finance lawsuits

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a handy overview of the school finance lawsuits – who the plaintiffs are, who their lawyers are, and on what grounds they are suing. Among other things, it shows that I was correct in saying that there … Continue reading →

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At last, school finance lawsuit number 4

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The fourth and presumably final school finance lawsuit was filed just before the holiday weekend. The state’s largest school districts, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks, have filed a lawsuit claiming the public education system is inadequate and inequitable, the fourth such … Continue reading →

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And then there were three

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Three school finance lawsuits, that is. Flanked by Edgewood Superintendent Jose Cervantes, parents, students and community leaders from Texas districts, MALDEF attorney David Hinojosa highlighted three key claims in its suit at a press conference Tuesday. The lawsuit claims the … Continue reading →

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State revenues inching up

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A little bit of good news. State coffers will be bit plumper than previously expected, Comptroller Susan Combs announced Monday, but her outlook for the Texas economy is less optimistic. Texas is estimated to collect $1.6 billion more than was … Continue reading →

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Second school finance lawsuit filed

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We’re just getting warmed up. A coalition of property wealthy school districts jumped into the school funding fray Friday, filing a separate lawsuit claiming the current system has created another illegal statewide property tax and does not provide children with … Continue reading →

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Hochberg bows out, Gallego makes it official

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I am totally bummed out by this. The Legislature’s foremost expert on school finance and one of its top public education advocates, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, confirmed this afternoon that he won’t seek re-election next year. Hochberg, who took … Continue reading →

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More schools join the lawsuits

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lubbock: The Lubbock Independent School District announced Monday they will join the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition in an equity lawsuit against the state. Simply put, LISD is receiving less money per student because they are one of the … Continue reading →

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More school districts looking at school finance lawsuit

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio. Trustees of the area’s two largest school districts — North East and Northside — on Tuesday deliberated about joining a lawsuit against the state over what some consider to be an inadequate and inequitable education funding system. … Continue reading →

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Margins tax lawsuit goes to Supreme Court

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Oral arguments for the lawsuit that claims the business margins tax is an unconstitutional income tax are being heard by the State Supreme Court this week. In a lawsuit filed in July, Allcat Claims Service LP , a Boerne insurance … Continue reading →

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HISD to join school finance lawsuit

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Houston school board committed Thursday to suing the state, adding to a growing list of districts taking legal action to force Texas lawmakers to improve the way they fund public education. Trustees of the Houston Independent School District … Continue reading →

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First school finance lawsuit filed

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More will follow, it’s just a matter of when and how many. A coalition representing public school districts, taxpayers and parents filed a lawsuit against the state in Travis County district court Monday night. The Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness … Continue reading →

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Another school finance lawsuit update

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib brings some news about the impending school finance lawsuits. Yes, lawsuits – there are two in the works. The Equity Center’s lawsuit will focus on fairness, attacking the target revenue system established in 2006 when lawmakers reduced the … Continue reading →

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More districts will join in school finance lawsuit

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to a courtroom near you. School districts will throw everything short of the kitchen sink into their upcoming lawsuit against the state of Texas for shortchanging public education, a lead attorney in the case said Tuesday. “We are … Continue reading →

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It’s news but it’s not new

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before the Labor Day weekend, Sen. Dan Patrick said something that was considered to be newsworthy even though he and others have been saying it for years. A Republican state senator calling for a tax increase is clearly in the … Continue reading →

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The high school football tax

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You may not be paying more in property taxes, but if you have a kid in public school, or maybe if you just know someone who has a kid in public school, you’re probably paying more for something. High school … Continue reading →

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