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.
What is Motivating All the Marketing Mailers in Prosper ISD?
Prosper ISD, a small affluent school district in North Texas, is asking voters to approve four bond propositions costing $2.8 billion (principal only) or more than $5 billion when principal and interest are both accounted for, according to the Voter Information Document. But while most people, including myself, have been fixated on the bond package’s...