Judge finds Texas school finance system unconstitutional

I think one of the primary causes that kids have no ability to resolve conflict is they never have opportunity to learn. There is always an adult around to tell them what to do.

A very good point. Because everybody is so sensitive these days, kids never have the chance to work things out on their own. Any sign of any animosity or anything approaching that is dealt with before it develops.

I'm not saying that a playground fight or even just a scuffle is the best way for a child to learn, but these days it seems as if a kid never learns that there are consequences to the decisions they make. That is just flat out taken away from them.

They'll probably tax ... Stupid Tax ...

We already have a Stupid Tax. It's called the Lottery.

Wow, this is the first I've heard of this.

I live in a "rich" district that had to cut its budget by $50 million this year because of 'recapture' as it's called. We are at the maximum tax.

I teach in another 'rich' school district where the bottom line is this: In the past six years, the actual amount generated by tax dollars to educate each student has risen; however the net amount spent on each student has gone down. In other words, taxpayers in the 'rich' school districts are paying more in taxes and their children are getting less benefit because more and more money each year goes to 'poor' school districts.

Most people don't realize this...that the amount sent out to poor districts grows each year. From $600 per student 6 years ago, to nearly $2,200 per student this year in our district. As an end result, with inflation and rising energy costs, our school districts actually spend less on each student now than they did six years ago even though the taxpayers pay more in taxes.

I've been involved in three 'rich' school districts, and they are far from it. Budget cuts are deep and painful. I am a conservative, but those of you who think school districts are wasteful and frivolous with the taxpayers money haven't done a lot of research into what's been happening to school districts in this state since Robin Hood passed. This is the most heinous taxation without representation plan since we threw tea into the Boston Harbor, and it desperately needs overturning.

Students should all be allocated an equal, fair amount determined by the state as necessary to educate children. Period. That should come from the state. Period. How they pay for it is of no concern to me. If there's a state tax, then we will get relief on our property tax and it's a wash.

But, quite frankly, I am nauseated to see that these 7,000 students are getting lap tops when we can't even afford to give all our kids a copy of the text book for my class anymore.

It's not about fairness or equality or any such thing. It's pure Socialism --- redistribution of wealth --- from those according to their ability, to those according to their need.

It's all about test scores not being equal between kids from educated families and those kids from the families which just arrived from Mexico.

Check this out:

"There is in our current system, unquestionably, a significant gap of more than 10 percentage points in educational achievement between economically disadvantaged students and noneconomically disadvantaged students. And this is really remarkable when you consider that over half of our public education students are economically disadvantaged," Judge John Dietz said while handing down his ruling to end a six-week trial. "In other words, half of our students in Texas are significantly behind in achievement compared to the other half."

The 10-point gap in test scores compared economically disadvantaged youngsters (students from low-income families) with the state average. If the low-income students are compared only with students who are not low income, the gap increases to between 14 and 26 points, depending on grade level.

None of the trial witnesses contradicted testimony and evidence that it costs much more to educate low-income students, children with limited English proficiency or both.

Austin Superintendent Pat Forgione testified that it would take an additional $40 million to bring his low-income and limited-English-proficient students up to passing grade. His district, a property-wealthy one, has 41,397 low-income students and 16,191 limited-English-proficient students, according to 2002-03 statistics.

El Paso County's nine school districts collectively have 120,283 low-income students (74.7 percent of total) and 49,015 limited-English-proficient students.

If the Austin district needs $40 million more to bring its more-difficult students up to passing grade, it would take El Paso school districts roughly $120 million more to do the same.

"What can we do to keep this dismal future from becoming a reality?" the judge asked. "The key to changing the future is to close the gap in academic achievement between the haves and the have-nots.

"The solution seems obvious. Texas needs to close the education gap, but the rub is that it costs money to close the educational achievement gap," he said.

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040918-170501.shtml

That means kids of parents who actually bothered to properly prepare them for school by teaching them the numbers and alphabet, who bought them books and crayons, who taught them basic vocabulary etc deserve no books or anything until their test scores match those of the kids of unwed mothers from Mexico who plop themselves in front of a television all day, never bother to buy their kids a book or teach them English.

This is why youre kid won't get a textbook while those kids whose parents dropped out of middle school and were too lazy to learn English or teach it to their kids will come home with nice new laptop computers: "evidence thatit costs much more to educate low-income students, children with limited English proficiency or both."

And when those 7000+ students -- (more than 7,000 have received their laptops and wireless internet service by now) still don't do too well on the tests --- they must come up with even more money for them. The money obviously isn't just laying around so it has to be taken from the schools where the students are performing well. It's got to be this way until all the kids do equally poorly.

The problem with this rationale (?) is that a large number of this same demographic doesn't stop in El Paso. I've taught econ-disad, non-English speaking illegals, too, at my 'rich' school. At the school I taught in last year, there were 30% econ-disad students. There are 11% where I teach now. Socialist logic would dictate that an econ-disad student would have the same hardships, regardless of his/her geographic location. Shouldn't all econ-disad students statewide get the laptops, then? These kids up in North Texas ought to be able to sue the state for unfair treatment if they don't get the laptops, too.

It doesn't work that way. For example in many of the border schools, it's not only free lunch but also free breakfasts -- for all the students. You can be the child of a millionaire and it's 2 free meals a day -- not reduced cost but completely free. You should see the buses that show up to take the kids on field trips -- not the yellow regular school buses but some kind of deluxe chartered bus -- with movies.

They used to do the free meals according to family income --- but that wasn't fair because all the kids with lunches from home didn't have to wait in line and were found sitting together. And the kids realized who the welfare kids were --- that's too unfair --- so it's free lunch across the board now.

It's not just the kids being handed out new laptops in certain schools --- all the teachers also are.

Well, as I said, this is nauseating. If they stop getting all of this money from other districts, where will they get the money to pay for all this free stuff for the illegals?

That's the problem --- most of the people coming over from Mexico are very broke, they have no education or job skills or language ability. That's why the rate of those who lack a high school education is climbing so rapidly --- they didn't have an education when they came over -- and it's going to take many generations to get them up to par.

The reason these kids are doing so poorly in schools is for one their parents don't read and write nor speak English, and another ---their parents are likely not married and mom's collecting various kinds of welfare checks. They insist on having their kids learn their own language -- so the school finds teachers who also from Mexico to teach them which just gives more cultural disadvantage. The schools here are getting to be a joke --- almost all the high schools have a day care because the teen pregnancy rate is so high --- kids commonly have 2 or 3 kids before graduating unless they end up dropping out first. One reason it costs more to educate a border teenager is that day care workers must also be financed by the school. Not to mention a paid police officer to try to curb the violence from gangs, and the costs of grafitti removal and other vandalism --- which is very common.

I have a suggestion...Let's let Mexico annex El Paso. Can't make a purse out of a sow's ear.

Don't forget --- the border counties that need this ever increasing number of dollars are growing extremely fast in population --- not long ago the border counties were just those immediately along the border but now they're the immediate border county and at least one or two more further north. More and more it's people from extreme poverty that are moving into the USA --- not all are illegals either --- much of Mexico has been coming for free maternity care for decades -- using American hospitals to give birth at no cost to themselves and obtaining US birth certificates for their kids --- they may go back to be raised and live in Mexico, this group has US citizenship even if they are in no other way Americans but can come here any time they please.