School finance in the United States has been in turmoil for thirty years. Three things have contributed if not caused this turmoil. First, the courts have become very active participants in the design of school finance policy, and this is not something they are particularly well-equipped to do. Second, court decisions have reinforced a more general tendency to centralize school decision making at the state level. Third, school finance has been largely divorced from considerations of the performance of schools. The result has been that the outcomes have been disappointing both in terms of the levels of student achievement and in terms of measures of equity across schools. The State of Texas of course knows many of the problems, and I believe it is a very good sign that the Governor and the Legislature are prepared to address the issues.
Ranked-Choice Voting: Overview and Model Legislation
The movement to adopt ranked-choice voting as a system for elections has been growing throughout the nation. It is a complex method of voting that has a disenfranchising effect and violates the “one person, one vote” doctrine. Key Points: Ranked-choice voting is slow, confusing, and complex. RCV violates the one person, one vote doctrine. RCV...