Plan would keep more local dollars in local communities
By Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas This bill gives Texas schools more resources and delivers them in a smarter and more effective way. The district-by-district numbers in this plan show we have a major opportunity to improve public education in Texas" said the chairman of the Texas Houses Public Education Committee Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen) spelling out the details of his 
House Bill 1759 earlier this week. The legislation would reform and modernize the states system of paying for public education while possibly heading off a continuation of the school finance lawsuit currently before the Texas Supreme Court.
The proposed
reforms in HB 1759 when combined with the $3 billion in additional per-student funding called for in Aycocks plan would increase funding for the overwhelming majority of Texas school districts. In fact school districts that educate 94 would see a per-pupil funding increase under his plan
said Aycock.
The bill requires that no school district see a decrease in per-pupil funding over the next two years.
Any change in these formulas will have different implications for different districts" Aycock said.
But on the whole this plan increases equity it keeps more local dollars in local communities and it provides schools more resources to educate kids."
Last week the House voted overwhelmingly for
a two-year state budget that increased education funding by $2.2 billion on top of what is needed to pay for student enrollment or population growth. In addition the House resoundingly approved an
amendment that would allow an additional $800 million to flow to public education if Aycocks legislation is approved.
HB 1759 would also remove antiquated decades-old district adjustments in the funding system and reform a number of provisions once used to protect districts from short-term funding losses Aycock said.
The proposal would put 98 of Texas students into a formula driven equalized system. Under current law only 87 of students would be in such a system in the 2016 fiscal year and it drops to 82 in FY 2017.
The plan would also reduce the number of districts and the amount of money subject to recapture under which a growing number of ISDs across Texas are required to send some of their local tax revenue to the state for redistribution to poorer areas. Aycock said the proposal would save the Houston ISD from entering recapture in 2016 and significantly reduces the amount of money the district would have to send to the state in 2017.
We had to ask the fundamental question: Do we want to do whats right for the state of Texas and the children of Texas or do we want to sit around and try to play lawyer and out-guess the courts?" Aycock said.
The Committee on Public Education plans to hear public
testimony on HB 1759 next week.
