As we approach the new Texas legislative session, RISD Trustees are working to create interest and understanding about education issues.

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Many of you are aware that school finance is a hot topic.  Districts with less than $305,000 of assessed property value per student are called property poor, or Chapter 42 districts .  Richardson ISD has $464,640 of assessed property value per enrolled student and is therefore a property-wealthy, or Chapter 41 district. 

 

Through the current school finance plan, Chapter 41 districts send funds to Austin , which are then distributed to Chapter 42 districts.  This plan is sometimes called Robin Hood.  The objective of this plan is to equalize the amount of money available to every school child in the state, regardless of the local property values of their community. 

 

We support this concept.  Just because a child lives in a property-poor community, his educational opportunity should not be penalized.  This distribution system is working fairly well, although there are a few miscalculations that need to be fixed.  The problem is not so much the way the pie is being cut.  It is the size of the pie. 

 

There are simply not enough dollars in the whole Texas system to adequately educate a child.  Therefore, we believe the major issue facing the legislature is not EQUITY.  It is ADEQUACY.

 

Senator Florence Shapiro is proposing the appointment of a bipartisan commission to determine the cost of an adequate education in Texas .  A study could be completed in six months, because several proven ways to determine the cost of an “adequate education” already exist.  An adequacy study in Maryland led to a new financing method in that state.  Let’s do the same in Texas .