Edited by Chris Patterson, Director of Research, Texas Public Policy Foundation
December 2003
The Texas Public Policy Foundation has compiled a set of papers offering solutions to the mess that comprises the current school financing system in the Lone Star State. With sky-rocketing property taxes, a court case attacking local tax redistribution, and the full attention of the state's legislature and governor, Texas's problems may be national news in 2004. Legislators are expected to come into special session to seek solutions. To frame such debates, this volume showcases a diverse set of authors, including nationally-known scholars such as Eric Hanushek and Caroline Hoxby and local players such as Catherine Clark from the Texas Association of School Boards and Harrison Keller from the Office of the Texas House Speaker. They argue for their own forms of reform, such as choice, revised spending policies, and dramatic tax reform. Much of the volume is quite specific to Texas, so outsiders will find it somewhat less useful. Yet anyone with a general interest in school funding can glean some insights. For example, John Merrifield of the University of Texas at San Antonio argues persuasively for the merits of a voucher-based system; Hoxby effectively shows that the "adequacy method," by which funding levels are based on the amount purportedly needed for adequate schooling, will simply emphasize the needs of interest groups over those of children; and Clark explains how other states have grappled with their own school funding controversies. The Foundation also provides a nice introduction, summarizing each paper, so readers can easily pick among the contents. To download the entire volume or individual chapters, visit http://www.texaspolicy.com/PTST/.
