In Texas, our anti-public school politicians, who have been in power for over a decade have done a couple of things that have devastated public school finance.
- They put a cap on property tax rates. Which is the primary way Texas public schools are funded.
- The state “recaptures” a percentage of the property taxes that “rich” districts collect. “Rich” used to mean “rich,” with just a handful of districts affected. Now “rich” means “not poor,” with an ever increasing number of districts affected.
- The state has dramatically decreased the percentage of school funding it provides.
Because Texas is a population growth state our anti-public school politicians can tell the honest lie of claiming they have increased school funding… While actually decreasing it. How do they do this? It’s the difference between raw numbers and percentages. Here’s an example of how it works. The numbers are scaled down to make the math easier.
The anti-tax, anti-public school politician: “Last year we provided $1 million in public school funding (for 1,000 students).This year we are providing $1.1 million in public school funding (for 1,300 students). We have increased public school funding by $100,000.00, a whopping 10%. I love (hate)public schools. Vote for me!!”
Anybody with a brain, who actually uses it:“Last year you funded public schools at $1,000.00 per student. This year you are funding public schools at $846.00 per student. You have decreased public school funding by 15%. You are purposefully starving public schools. I can’t in good conscious vote for you.”
My point… When you hear your anti-public school state politician tout his/her record on increasing school funding, do a little math and remember what my dad used to tell me when I was obfuscating… “Don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s raining.”
Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn…
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