by JONATHAN YORK
Hays CISD will join big-city school districts in a lawsuit that challenges school finance under the Texas constitution, board members decided Monday night.
The vote was 6-1 with Marty Kanetzky voting no. The lawsuit will be filed by the Houston firm Thompson & Horton, who had success pursuing similar claims against the state in 2005.
Attorneys David Thompson and Philip Fraissinet did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. But the Austin, Houston and Dallas school districts all decided earlier this fall to join their case.
When it is filed, it will be the fourth in a group of lawsuits to come out this fall, from different groups of districts represented by different attorneys, against the troubled system that pays for our public schools.
“We will discuss the latest lawsuit with the attorney general and file an appropriate response,” TEA spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman said in a written statement. “Ultimately, school funding is an issue that will be resolved by the courts and the legislature.”
Going through the courts seems to be the only way to make legislators act, said Superintendent Jeremy Lyon. At the same time that the state raised its requirements for “adequate” student performance by using a more difficult standard test, it took more than $5 billion out of the education budget.
“If you are increasing your expectations,” Lyon said, “then you need to fund that increased expectation.”
In a letter to districts, Thompson and Fraissinet claim that the 82nd Legislature short-changed schools by about $500 per student, per year.
The existing school finance system is so convoluted that it has become “unexplainable,” they say. And while new tests and standards require more from students, the legislature has made it harder for those students to get help if they need it, especially for students who are most at risk.
“School districts can join the fight or they can sit on the sidelines,” Lyon said. “We are proud to be one of these districts that are taking the issue further. ... To underfund your greatest investment is simply unacceptable.”
