One of the key issues that pushed the Texas Legislature into a Special Session was inability to agree on how the state’s public schools should be funded. The result of several months of hard work on this issue is a mix of good and bad for school finance.

The formula itself has not radically changed. The basic allotment for students in average daily attendance remains $4,765. School districts still have flexibility in setting their own local tax rate, and the state will still contribute to school districts that struggle with their local base. There are some appropriation differences; the Foundation School Program has seen a reduction of $438,900,000 in fiscal year 2012, and $361,100,000 in fiscal year 2013.

There is also a substantial payment deferral, to the tune of $2.3 billion, from Foundation School Fund 193 to the Texas Education Agency. The intent is to make this payment in September 2013, the next biennium, so that the expenditure won’t count against the current budget. This deferral is not the only one in the new education budget; an assortment of deferrals were needed to make the money work.

I say the results of the school finance debate are mixed for two primary reasons: the good is that Texas funded public education without dipping into the rainy day fund, an option that was on the table as recently as last Saturday.

However, this Legislature may have punted the problem to the 83rd Texas Legislature, which will now have to come up with $4.6 billion, half to pay for the $2.3 billion deferred payment, and half to pay for the $2.3 billion regular payment that will be due to schools in that biennium. Additionally, the new system does not fix the spending problems in Texas schools. We spend more on K-12 education than anything in our state save healthcare, and while deferring these payments might fix the 2011 shortfall, it could set us up for one that will be just as bad (or worse) in 2013. While it is good that our schools will be open for business in August, we still have a long way to go with school finance in Texas.

-James Golsan