School finance deal reached: part Eissler, part Shapiro
This is an exact quote from the working paper of a senior adviser to Straus:
Option 1
Year 1–50% reduction from target revenue & 50% reduction from regular program
Year 2–50% reduction from target revenue & 50% reduction from regular program
Provisions sunset 8/31/2-13
Interim Committee to study school finance
Option 2:
Year 1 — proportionate reduction under current funding structure (Eissler)
Year 2–implementation of 1st year of SB 22 (Shapiro 25%/75%)
Estimate $4 billion owing FYs 2014 and 2015
Provisions sunset 8/31/2013
Interim Committee to study public school finance
There is an “understanding” that House Appropriations and Senate Finance can set the rates.
Everything that I have written here comes from two documents that I have seen, one from Sylvester Turner, the other from the senior Straus adviser.
* * * *
These were the two options that were on the table. The conferees chose to go with Option 2.
Eissler (pro-ration) is a 6% cut for all districts, including low target-revenue districts. In other words, the poorest districts get hurt the most.
SB 22, which I believe was the best of all options, is much better for poor districts.
The House insisted on a Sunset provision in two years.
Tagged: Florence Shapiro, Rob eissler, school finance
2l says:
Not a lot of difference between these options. One is 50/50, the other is 5/8, 3/8. This took days of negotiations?
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Fiftycal says:
The correct way to mimic the New Yawk Times is; WOMEN and MINORITYS hardest hit. Maybe all them PO’ districts can raise their property taxes? Austin can’t without trying to get VOTERS to approve raising taxes above the MAXIMUM LEVEL allowed by state law. But of course, AISD gives HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of it’s tax dollars to the PO’. Thanks Scott McClown for instituting the ROBBING HOOD funding mechanism. Oh, and where is he today? Running his own “think tank” that advocates stealing more money from people to give to the beleagured PO’.
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Harry Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
And that adds precisely WHAT to our discussion here….?
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Tellinlikeitis Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
50cal…
The Good Lord didn’t show much mercy when he allocated your IQ level.
It was Sen. Bill Ratliff who developed the Robin Hood plan.
And we wouldn’t even need Robin Hood – if the state funded education to the necessary levels.
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Jed says:
do you know you’re racist, or are you ignorant of that, too?
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
“The poorest districts get hurt the most.” A lot of rural Republican representatives will come home to some unhappy constituents. On another topic I saw a story today that an Alabama Republican state representative changed from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party because of what his fellow Republican legislators were doing to education in that state.
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Tellinlikeitis Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Kenneth D….
It’s going to be interesting to see if those rural Rs vote for their party on Sunday – or, whether they vote for their community schools.
House Democrats won’t vote to cut $4 Billion from public ed at a time when billions more are sitting in the RDF.
GOP leaders will need 76 of those House GOPers to vote for the plan.
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Anonymous Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 8:20 am
A lot of those rural counties voted overwhelmingly for Perry and his agenda. They can’t complain now that they don’t like the education cuts. What the hell did they think they were voting for?
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Teacher Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
God, gays, guns. Fear, smear, queer. The Republicans have convinced rural Texas, and many others, that the Democrats are heathens who want to take away all their deer rifles, encourage abortion and gay rights. Rural folks with gun racks with “Secede” bumper stickers and old W stickers still stuck to their pickups. That’s the face of the new Republican in Texas. Rove et al really have done a number on this state and this country. I teach. I see and hear it all. Did you know that the new number of testing days in our school calendar is 45? 45 days of standardized testing! Millions and millions to Pearson to develop tests. Thousands of lost education jobs. And now Perry wants to lead the country?! Ha!
Kirk says:
Dang! I was really hoping for a special session this summer so we could see all the teachers in the galleries.
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anonymous Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Teachers in the galleries? No. Alex Jones and his mobs of angry people? Yes.
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Teacher Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
They knew they had to get it done, because believe you me, there would have been screaming teachers in the galleries. Shame on them all.
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Roosters says:
I hope the Democrats come to the floor on Sunday with Record Votes from 4/3 and 5/6, when these same rural Republicans voted repeatedly to cut public schools more than $8 billion.
If you voted for $8 billion in cuts, do not spew your outrage against a mere 6% cut to your school districts. Do not tell other legislators their districts deserve to be cut 15% so your districts can be cut 2%.
The Senate saved your bacon. Sit down and be quiet.
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hooah! Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Not really, Roosters. The Senate didn’t save any bacon….only a bit of the rind.
The real meat was cut.
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Roosters Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
The Senate cut the cut in half, from $8 billion to a $4 billion for the public schools. The House members at $8 billion essentially voted to cut their districts 12-15%. The Senate saved them (and the public) from having to live with cuts that deep.
Also, the new R members are going to get eaten alive back home if they pretend a $4 billion cut was really an “increase to funding for public education.” That’s fuzzy math. Just be honest. A $400 cut per child means program cuts, larger secondary classes, and higher taxes.
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goober says:
When you really sit down and work through the numbers, the budget cuts aren’t nearly as bad as either side wants us to think. Public ed gets a 2% increase in funding, even if this doesn’t pay for enrollment growth. Most districts have the ability to absorb cuts at this level with little difficulty. They have reserves, they can raise property taxes, they can change their fiscal year. District employment has grown 50% faster than enrollment. It may cause a few thousand layoffs and some belt tightening, but there’s nothing catastrophic or even alarming. And there’s not much pain in Medicaid. Unlike 2003 nobody is being made ineligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
The bottom line? Jim Pitts is a genius.
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Tellinlikeitis Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Goober…
I think you are way off on your “50 percent” figure.
Let’s sort through the real numbers.
2010-2011 school year enrollment:
4,933,540 students
664,503 total staff
2000-2001 school year enrollment:
4,059,619 students
541,342 total staff.
So…over the past 10 years, school enrollment has increased by 873,921
Staff has increased by 123,161
Math is not my specialty…..someone else here can run the percentage numbers. I can assure you, however, that Goober’s 50 percent number is not even close.
Also, that 2 percent public ed increase is as phony as a $4 bill.
You only get an increase if you don’t count the accounting trick – the $2.3 billion deferred payment to be made in the next budget cycle….and, it also assumes that property values will increase $800 million – and, thus, reduce the state’s public ed obligation by $800 million.
Good luck on that.
You are correct on enrollment growth. For the first time ever, the state is not going to pay for an additional 180,000 kids.
Imagine that….will they need classrooms, teachers, et al?
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Anonymous Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
With the three year rolling average on property taxes being used for annual mineral calculations by county tax assessors across Texas, if oil prices remain at or near their current levels over the next year, dropping 2009 valuations out of the calculation and replacing them with the 2012 numbers can very easily bump property taxes up $800 million. It won’t be evenly distributed throughout the state, obviously, since the gains would be weighted towards oil-rich school districts, but that’s what the Robin Hood plan is for.
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Jed Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
doesn’t that “increased spending” thing mas the fact that some of the budgeted spending for education for last cycle came from the feds? so, we’re “increasing spending” this time, but less money is going to schools in total.
do i have this right?
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
They can raise taxes? This just pushes costs downward as they are doing with other essential programs. The poorer districts have little reserves over the state required minimum because the are still operating on 2006 funds. With the required number of days for students staying the same how do they change their year to save money. The layoffs are in the thousands, yes. There will be a larger number of people that meet the requirements for retirement leaving and they won’t be replaced. There won’t be any hiring though and some experienced teachers will be pushed out just to save money and not because they weren’t good teachers.
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Teacher unions are the problem says:
We really need education reform.
Teachers unions are preventing laws that would allow local school districts to do a better job allocating scarce taxpayer dollars.
How is spending between $8 and $11 THOUSAND dollars per year per student, not enough money?
Assuming a class size of only 22 students times $8,000 equals $176,000 per class of students per year.
Texas Taxpayers do not have unlimited funds. Time to cut a lot of non-critical, non-important expenses from schools.
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Kenneth D. Franks Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Wrong, look at what Texas schools actually spend. You need to find a credible source for you information.
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Jed says:
bullshit.
1) teachers unions are preventing the state from screwing the kids even more in the name of balancing the budget. taxpayers dollars are only “scarce” to the extent that we don’t collect enough of ‘em.
2) you think $8-11K is obviously enough money, why do something like 44 states spend more than that? is every state but texas full of out of control liberals?
3) taxpayers may not have unlimited funds, but we’re nowhere close to finding the line. i can think of plenty of people who could afford to pay more in taxes. i see them driving around every day. what kind of car do *you* drive?
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
“bullshit.”
hard to argue with the intellectual elite here.
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Fiftycal Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 9:06 am
Well, what kind of car do YOU drive? The socialists have gone into full class warfare mode. I guess the genius is proposing a “tax” on how new/expensive a car you have. With about 20 million cars and “only” $8,000 million lacking to fully fund the bloated eduocracy, why the state could institute “only” a $400 per year TAX on vehicles. BUT of course, this would hurt the PO’. So I guess “new” cars will have to have a $1,200 TAX. AIn’t class envy great?
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truthiness says:
The official word: there IS no increase for public ed. Page 3, http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Bill_82/4_Conference/Summary%20of%20Conference%20Committee%20Report%20on%20House%20Bill%201.pdf
“The [Foundation School Program] funding level
assumes passage of legislation that adjusts school district and charter school payments to the level of available appropriations. This represents an estimated 5.6% reduction in state and local entitlements compared to current law… General Revenue Funds for public education programs outside the FSP are reduced by $1,403.2 million, or 52.8 percent compared to the 2010–11 biennium.”
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SA Teacher says:
First of all, teachers in Texas do not have unions. We are not allowed to belong to one. We have “associations” that not only protect teachers, but also students. Texas has been failing their children for years. I teach 22 kindergarteners who are expected to be reading when they enter Kindergarten. I use my own money to purchase supplies they don’t have,and in some cases, clothing and shoes. I have taken over a twelve thousand dollar paycut to have health insurance for my family. I work beyond school hours because I feel someone needs to look out for our future. I did the same things when I taught 5th grade. I work with many dedicated educators who are not going to have a job next year because of these cuts, yet we are still paying our superintendents enormous salaries.We are faced with board members who are not looking out for our students and promoting their own agendas. We have elected officials who have never set foot into a classroom who have decided we can perform miracles with less resources, higher standards (millions wasted on a new STARR test) with more students. I am seeing a slip in the 44th ranking in the next few years.
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Another SA teacher Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
:::standing ovation:::
This. Exactly this.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
“First of all, teachers in Texas do not have unions.”
any idea of why you’re paying union dues?
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El Profe Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
You are just being inflammatory. I never paid union dues in over thirty years teaching in Texas. My wife has never paid them in over thirty years of teaching. None of my friends who have taught in public schools in Texas ever paid union dues.
However, if I were teaching now, then I might serious consider joining a teachers union.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 4:24 am
A part of the dues teachers pay to belong to an “association” goes to the AFL-CIO but you don’t belong to a union?
centexliberal Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:11 am
I have been a Texas teacher for 30 years. I have NEVER paid union dues.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 4:25 am
Yart of your “association” dues goes to the AFL-CIO.
SA Teacher Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Belonging to a teacher organization in the state of Texas is a choice. Many teachers do not belong to one. Public school teachers in other states do not have a choice and are forced to belong to an independent teacher union within that state. So to assume that all public school teachers belong to a union or association is wrong on your part, along with assuming we are paying dues to the AFL-CIO. Many teachers join an association strictly for insurance purposes, to protect themselves from lawsuits. My point in the original post is this: the state government & local school boards are not looking out for our future. Our future referring to the education of millions of young people to become educated and productive members of society. Everyone has their own agenda. As always, the public school teacher will be expected to perform daily miracles in this messed up ideology. I am seriously considering lawsuit insurance. Having 24 students in a class with no support or assistance is a disaster waiting to happen.
karen Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 7:50 am
JBB,
Please provide a source for your allegations.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 8:56 am
@ Karen
Google is your friend.
El Profe Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Heritage Alliance PAC lists all four Texas teacher associations as “Liberal Organizations.” AFT and TSTA do have national union ties. TSTA and AFTE are not nationally affiliated. Though TSTA and AFTE do lobby in Austin and contribute to political campaigns (both Democratic and Republican) of legislative candidates, they have no national ties to any unions. Moreover, the Texas Library Association, of which I was a member for most of the Nineties, has no discernible ties to any union. Additionally, over the last eleven years of my teaching career, I, like about a quarter of the Texas teachers, had no affiliation with any organization outside of the Southern Baptist Convention. Of course, some of the Lottie Moon Fund may be going to the AFL-CIO. Google didn’t provide me with any clues to that connection.
karen Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 6:32 am
JBB,
You never provide sources for you claims………..speaks volumes.
JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
@ Karen
yes it does it tells you I’m not going to play your silly games. If you wish to stay an uninformed liberal be my guest.
Ausowl says:
according to the presser put out by Pitts, no new fees at all, which effective kills the civil legal services and indigent defense . . . .
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Amos Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
WWJD?
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Truman Sparks says:
Well we can see from the debates on the House floor and media over the last couple of days what the strategy is for 2012. The next election (Republicans pay attention here) is all about swing women voters. The atrocities committed against women, from inappropriate fliers to budget cuts will be used to inflame women of all walks of life. The media will highlight more stories about women’s issue in an effort to help. It will be an interesting case study in how the process really works. This will be the path to victory for D’s in 2012. Whether the result will actually be good for women is an entirely different matter. But, hey it will be fun to watch.
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appalledintexas says:
This is ridiculous, that our state struggles to fund education. Voters need to educate themselves and care when they go to the polls. Let’s look at how much is spent on prisoners. People who bash teachers need to walk a mile in their shoes.
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Tellinlikeitis Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Demographer Steve Murdock is showing us what Texas will look like in the out years. Nasty. Ugly.
By 2040, 3 out of every 10 Texans will not have a high school diploma, Murdock says…unless the trend line changes.
To do that, he says you need more high quality Pre K at the front end and more TEXAS grants at the back end.
Both are getting cut.
Rick Perry is creating a legacy…..he just doesn’t realize how discredited and despised he will be down the road aways.
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Fiftycal Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 9:29 am
So, 25 years from now, 30% of people won’t have a high school degree? Children that ARE NOT EVEN BORN YET??? You do realize that once we leave the Obamao depression behind there will be more money and more tax money. Then the educrats can build more ivory towers and hire more consultants and maybe even teachers. Or is it the contention that because teachers will have to teach 23 students instead of 22, NO LEARNING WILL HAPPEN? What idiocy.
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hooah! Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Have Republicans of the 21st Century found their Edmund J. Davis?
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Finally some good news out of Austin.
“The proposed 2012-13 budget is $15.2 billion smaller than the current budget. That’s an 8.1 percent cut in all funds spending — a modern record — and it’s an even bigger cut when inflation and population growth are figured in.”
The grown ups are in charge.
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karen Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 7:47 am
http://www.texaslsg.org/82nd/fr05282011budget
Adults? Not even close.
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
I found a link to the runs for all districts and posted the link on my blog this morning. So if you think we spend too much or we cut too much you will have some facts to argue your case. K.D.F.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Liberals here’s your homework assignment:
Why was LBJ called “Lyin Lyndon”?
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Anonymous Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Sane teans here’s your homework assignment: Why is JBB called a “moron”? Extra credit: Why does JBB have such an obsession with LBJ? My guess is it’s a case of unrequited love.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
typical liberal, can’t do the homework can only call names.
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Anonymous Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
this from the person that called LBJ “Lyin Lyndon”. Self awareness much??
JohnBernardBooks Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 7:03 am
I didn’t call LBJ Lyin Lyndon, he earned that nick all by hisself. Your assignment was to learn why.
Democrats you should be proud of your heritage. Find out why Lyin Lyndon helped a solid democrat state turned red and will stay red for a long time.
Anonymous Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 7:48 am
I didn’t call you a moron, you earned that name all by yourself.
Kenneth D. Franks says:
Why when presented with facts do some people try to change the subject?
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hooah! says:
When they’re presented with facts…they don’t.
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hooah! says:
BTW…has nothing happened in the Leg since dinnertime Friday? It’s now Sunday afternoon and no updates?
I guess TWIA is all fine and dandy, right?
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Aunt Bea Hatch says:
To SA Teacher: Call it what you want, hun, but what you belong to is a union and those unions only look out for you. Stop pretending that TCTA, ATPE, TFT, and TSTA work for children. Bullshiz, hun! Those organizations only look out for teachers and teachers ONLY. The Gov’t and the school boards are not only looking out for teachers, but for the day-to-day school business and the education of students, and the toughest call they’ve had to make is trying to operate under the billions of dollars being cut from public schools, and guess who stopped them from doing so? Teachers’ unions, or “association” as you like to call them, suge.
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SA Teacher Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Take a look at what’s been happening in several of the school boards in the districts in and around the SA area before you tell me they are working for the “good” of our students. One in particular… Judson. School board members with the agenda to divide & get minimal accomplished, while spending THOUSANDS (over 14K for one in particular) to attend conferences they don’t need to attend. Then you can talk to me about who is looking out for the students. And I am speaking as a tax payer with that reply.
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Aunt Bea Hatch says:
Hun, please be a tad bit more specific in your counter points b/c I’m not following whatcha saying. I don’t understand how Judson compares to what your unions have done to fight the state and public schools on trying to work-in flexibility to adjust to the massive budget cuts. I’ll give you this much; your dues paid off, I guess, since teachers are protected more so then the students of our public schools.
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Anonymous says:
On HB 2093, Rep Thompson crushed Rep Van Taylor.
Gosh, how many times can Van Taylor show himself to be a fool? He showed up on back mic at 9:33 pm, cocksure, and then the Speaker and seasoned members towel-snapped him back to junior high school.
Time and again, Van Taylor suits up for the Ten Worst List!
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Sarah Burke says:
Funny.
Van Taylor submitted a second point of order at 9:40 pm on HB 2093. And was overruled a second time.
Embarrassment.
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Anony says:
Um, who is Van Taylor ho-ing for? I believe that Rep Van Taylor tried 3 Points of Order in his feckless stunt.
Clown College magna cum laude grad: Van Taylor.
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Bill Cain says:
Weird Deal.
Van Taylor went to the front mic at 9:53 pm to talk in the face of the overwhelming milieu of the House. He cited the Conservative Coalition STAFF (criminal indictee John Colyandro). TCC members, however, often oppose the failed position of criminal indictee John Colyandro.
121 in FAVOR, 4 PNV, 4 absent, and a scant 21 with Van Taylor and criminal indictee Colyandro!
Like a comic book.
Wow.
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Fiftycal says:
OOOOOOPS! Seems someone forgot to tell the minor players there was a deal. Sen. Wendy is busy reading the phone book to filibuster SB 1811. THANKS! We’ll get “sanctuary cities”, campus carry, TWIA and Congressional re-districting a month early! WOO HOO! Gotta give it to those dims. They really showed us.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
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Pat says:
I have an unrelated confession to make. Dewhurst asserted leadership this session. He garnered votes and respect for a CMS fix that solved problems (actuarially, but still). He deserves credit. Cheers to our 41st Lieutenant Governor.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
“They knew they had to get it done, because believe you me, there would have been screaming teachers in the galleries. Shame on them all.”
Democrats did not care what you wanted, the deal is dead thanks to Democrats.
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