The College Station school board was given an update Tuesday on legal action involving state funding.
Board of Trustees President Valerie Jochen says CSISD could participate, for different reasons, in any of the three groups taking the state to court. One lawsuit has been filed and two other groups are expected to follow.
Jochen says there was no action taken by the board and there was no timetable to make a decision. She says the subject will be discussed again in November.
In addition with not being pleased with a reduction in state funding, Jochen says the board was concerned that school finance laws were rewritten this session instead of following previous legislation.
Jochen also says it’s important to tell the candidates seeking the Texas House seat in next month’s election the importance of school funding.
WTAW’s Bill Oliver visits with Valerie Jochen.
The following information is courtesy of the College Station ISD.
School Finance Litigation: There has already been one lawsuit filed against the State of Texas regarding the school finance system and there are two more lawsuits anticipated. The board discussed the merits of the lawsuits and whether or not the district should join one of them.
The Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition was the first to file a lawsuit. This group is suing on the grounds that the funding system is not equitable because some districts receive more money per student than others.
A separate suit is expected to be filed by Thompson & Horton, LLP, which claims the current funding system does not meet the standards of the Texas Constitution in three ways. First, the lawsuit will claim that with the increased enrollment and more stringent standards being placed on districts, the funding from the state is inadequate. Second, the suit will claim that the current taxing system is a de facto statewide property tax, since most school districts do not have “meaningful discretion” over their own taxes. Districts must tax at the highest rates allowed by law in order to provide the services necessary to meet the state standards. Lastly, the suit will assert that the current per-student funding system is arbitrary and can not be explained, and therefore, it is not efficient or suitable according to the Texas Constitution.
Additionally, it is expected that the Texas School Coalition (represented by Haynes and Boone, LLP) will file a suit similar to the Thompson & Horton suit, claiming the current funding for Texas school districts is inadequate and includes a statewide property tax.