The endgame has begun for this session of the Texas Legislature. Some major bills have made their way through the process and have gone to the governor's office, along with stacks of minor bills.
But even though there are only three weeks to go, don't start thinking the biennial lawfest is about over. Reaching agreement on how to finance public schools could still become the session's Achilles' heel.The House and Senate have passed separate versions of the next two-year state budget, and the measures have been sent to a conference committee. But a separate bill will be required to determine how the money allotted to schools will be distributed among them.With an overall revenue shortfall estimated at $27 billion when the session began, school districts have taken a big hit in the draft budgets. Administrators across the state have begun planning and implementing cutbacks, including layoffs. It's not smart for them to wait for the Legislature to give them final numbers on just how bad the budget cuts will be.There are sharp differences between the school finance bills that await floor action in the House and Senate. With adjournment set for May 30 and end-of-session deadlines beginning to kick in on Monday, this is when things get really interesting.The House bill, HR 2485 by Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, would trim $7.8 billion from school spending. In the Senate, SB 22 by Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, would cut $4 billion.There's more to it than the numbers.Hochberg's bill eliminates funding for programs and the special treatment some districts have received. He has compared the bill, which he admits he doesn't like, to the sinking Titanic, saying "no matter whether a district has been in first class or steerage, they all end up in the same life boats."Remember that description. It's important.Shapiro took a different tack. She sorted through various parts of the state's Byzantine school finance formula and changed parts here and there. Some analysts have criticized the result as favoring districts at the top of current per-student funding levels and taking too much from those at the bottom.The school finance plan adopted by the Legislature in 2006 aimed to reduce funding disparities, but it ended up freezing others in place and delivering much higher per-student funding to some schools.That's part of the current political divide over new finance plans. Some districts fare better under Hochberg's plan and others under Shapiro's.For example, most large Tarrant County districts -- Arlington, Birdville, Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Keller -- would be better off under the Hochberg plan. But Carroll, Grapevine-Colleyville and Northwest (along with Dallas and Houston) do better with Shapiro's.This is the Legislature's Tea Party session, the one that was supposed to follow the sharply conservative twist of the November elections. The House, overwhelmingly Republican, has planted itself deep in the cut-big-government philosophy.Still, legislators tend to go with what's best for their home school districts. That will be the test for this Legislature during the next three weeks.Despite the advances in putting together a budget, as Shapiro has told the Senate Finance Committee, without a school finance bill "none of this works."And remember Hochberg's comment about all districts being in the same life boat? It's important because if they are not, if the new school finance bill again leaves some districts well off and others comparatively poor, history has shown the whole mess will end up in a long and expensive lawsuit. Administrators and supporters of some districts are already contemplating that step.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
