MyWestTexas.com - Editorial & Opinion - 07/22/2005 - McNeely: Will school begin before session ends?

MyWestTexas.com - Editorial & Opinion - 07/22/2005 - McNeely: Will school begin before session ends?: "But this is a strange time. The proposals Perry has proposed, and the Texas House and Senate have been discussing, would:

- In the name of education, put very little additional money into schools - barely enough to keep up with inflation. (Too many officeholders fail to take into account that inflation is about three percent a year. That's six percent over the two-year budget period.)

- Deeply undercut the idea of equity. The Texas Supreme Court years ago interpreted the Texas Constitution to require equal spending on Texas students, regardless of their financial circumstances or where they live.

- Downsize local property taxes, by varying amounts. But even according to the Senate's milder proposal, that loss of funds to the state would be partially offset by raising the state's sales tax by half a cent - a tax that is generally considered to most punish the poor.

The reason everything went into the ditch is that both houses of the legislature are so divided they can't get anything that gets sufficient agreement."