You probably remember the kid who cried because the playground at their school was only the size of 2 football fields - even though the playground at your school was only the size of a garden for an urban apartment, and you were perfectly satisfied with it. Some school systems are like the spoiled crybaby you knew so bitterly in your day.
The Wimberley Independent School District in Texas appears to be one such wealthy school system.
Back in 1984, poor school districts in Texas sued because the state's school funding system, which was based on property taxes, was unfair in that it didn't provide as much money per student in poor areas than in rich areas. Years after the poor districts won this case, lawmakers finally agreed on what's called the Robin Hood formula: Rich districts had to share some of their property tax intake with poor districts. The Texas Supreme Court quickly upheld this popular policy. A later ruling struck down the funding system because it still relied too much on property taxes - but they didn't overturn the Robin Hood rule. Now Wimberley is one of about 160 rich districts across the Lone Star State that must pay into this system.
But they're refusing to pay! Real bloody mature, huh?
The vice-president of the Wimberley school board said, "We're not going to pay it." (Cue Twisted Sister: "No! We ain't gonna pay it!") But they have to pay it! It's been compared to a person not liking paying taxes but still having to pay them.
Wimberley school officials cry that poorer districts seem to have more money than they do and are less crowded. Did Wimberley appoint Free Republic to its school bored? I mean, this sounds so much like all the financially secure folks who've called in to talk-shit radio for years with made-up stories about welfare mothers driving a Mercedes. Whenever you hear someone complaining about the poor having it too easy, the complainant is always someone who will never be poor and never has been. Always.
While the Wimberley schools are upset over having to use the stage in the gym as storage, a lot of the schools I attended didn't have a stage in the gym. Some barely even had a gym! The Wimberley schools are mad at having to use space heaters, but much of the time my school didn't even have that! So kwitcherbeefin'!
I think I know what the real problem is. I went to some public schools in a district that was average-income but where you wouldn't know it. Overcrowding was extreme, and this school system had far fewer amenities and lower teacher pay than a much poorer school system I attended later. It became obvious that the problem in this middle-income district was fiscal mismanagement. Hell, they squandered all the money we raised with the candy sale on an extravagant sign that they ended up just throwing away after a few years. They tear down perfectly good school buildings faster than major league sports clubs do with stadiums.
Maybe, just maybe, we should ask if the Wimberley Independent School District is managing its money properly. If it's getting so little out of the money that other districts get so much more from, there's only one answer I can muster.
At least Texas has a Robin Hood rule. I voiced a similar solution for Kentucky: Pool each area's property tax revenues and divide the dough proportionally. But it was ridiculed out of hand because an opulent few didn't want to pay for the schooling of poor children. But now that Wimberley is refusing to pay what it has to pay, Texas education officials say the only option is to consolidate it with a nearby poorer district - which would effectively pool their revenues.
But Wimberley says they're not really rich, because the average home value is $165,000. They're calling that poor??? I just looked up the home values of folks I know (it's public record), and even those who aren't poor have homes that aren't worth anywhere close to that. Most ain't even 6 digits.
Damn. It's a crazy world. It's like that George Michael song: "The rich declare themselves poor..."
(Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/012808dntexwimberley.2c73fcc.html)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Rich school system won't share the wealth
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So many people seem to have opinions about situations for which they know sooo little. Come visit our dilapidated schools and you will see that we have struggled just to keep the buildings intact. Compare our teachers' salaries to the surrounding districts and you will find we have the lowest, or 2nd lowest, pay of the 10 districts with which we compete for teachers. Look at all the programs we have cut so that the only programs left are extracurricular - that's the only thing left to cut. Compare the amount of money your district gets per student from the federal government to what Wimberley gets and you will see part of our trouble - we are the 10th lowest of the state's 1000+ districts - and federal money is ignored in the Chapter 41 formulas. How's that for equating funding.
ReplyDeletePlease stop with your know-it-all attitude and thinking you understand our situation from a few, slanted newspaper articles. I guarantee you have no clue what we are going thru in our supposedly rich district.
Just to inform the reader, here is what the Texas Courts ruled in 2004:
ReplyDeleteThis Court GRANTS FINAL JUDGMENT in favor of the West Orange Cove Plaintiffs on their claims for injunctive relief. Accordingly, this Court:
ENJOINS {forbids/prohibits} the State Defendants from giving any force and effect to the sections of the Education Code relating to the financing of public school Education (Chapters 41 and 42 of the Education Code) and from distributing any money under the current Texas school financing system until the constitutional violations are remedied. The effect of this injunction shall be stayed until October 1, 2005, in order to give the Legislature a reasonable opportunity to cure the constitutional deficiencies in the finance system before the foregoing prohibitions take effect.
"Waaaaaah" cries the rich Wimperley babies.
ReplyDelete