Texas Commission On Public School Finance Holds First Meeting

The Texas Constitution tasks the state with funding education, and it is the largest expenditure in the state budget, paid for with property taxes.

The Texas Constitution tasks the state with funding education, and it is the largest expenditure in the state budget, paid for with property taxes.

The formula for acquiring funding for public schools has been heavily debated and a decision was reached during the 85th Special Legislative Session to study property tax revenues that support more than 5.3 million Texas kids who rely on public education.

A newly-created, 13-member Texas Commission on Public School Finance is performing this study and held their first hearing this week. Discussions centered around legal framework of the state’s current school finance system, the student population in the over 1,100 school districts, as well as the education outcomes for students in the state.

The current school funding system goes back 30 years. It has been adjusted, but not completely revamped in those three decades. The Commission has been tasked to find ways of improving the public-school finance system by revamping the current system or creating new funding methods.

During the course of the hearings, some of the discussion topics will include performance-based pay, classroom pay versus administrative expenses, and alternative funding scenarios other than just a weighted average daily attendance model. The Commission is expected to deliver a report to legislators by Dec. 31 with their ideas.

Commission members are: Senators Larry Taylor, Paul Bettencourt, Royce West, Representatives Dan Huberty, Diego Bernal, Ken King, as well as Doug Killian, Nicole Johnson, Dr. Keven Ellis, Melissa Martin, Elvira Reyna and Todd Williams. The Commission is chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister.

Watch the first hearing of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance here or to find out more about the newly formed commission visit https://tea.texas.gov/schoolfinancecommission/.

This story originally published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc.