This booklet is basically a summary of a law book on the same subject by the same author. Although the 25 chapters of the larger work correspond directly to the chapters of the summary, this publication is not a law book in the usual sense. Rather, it is intended primarily to provide a simplified view of the property tax laws of Texas for tax…

A discussion of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on equal education. (JF)

Examines the inequities that characterize Texas school finance, the statutory provisions that bring about those patterns of disparity and discrimination, and the political factors that surround State educational policymaking. (Author/JF)

Although the school-tax burden is shared by several classes of property owners, Texas homeowners provide a major share of the support for financing local schools. From 1981-1983 homeowners' school-tax share grew by approximately 9.8% while the school-tax share for oil, gas, and mineral owners declined 18%. (JHZ)

Reviews the background of the property tax from ancient antecedents through the history of the United States, with particular reference to the rise of free public education. Issues discussed include major influences on the development of schools, tax limitations, the expansion of state and federal aid, and future projections. (MJL)

This paper analyzes Texas Senate Bill 351 that reforms public school funding. The bill provides for additional state funding and significant increases in local property taxes. The bill creates county education taxing units to neutralize the enormous property wealth differences found among the state's 1,056 school districts. It also provides a…

This booklet presents a variety of updated information for use by study groups and others interested in Texas public school finance. Section 1 reviews various study group projects related to Texas school finance; section 2 reports on finance-related activities and research projects of the Texas Education Agency; section 3 lists several…

In describing how the present Texas school finance system actually works, this report considers the historical development of the finance system, provides a breakdown of how money is allocated among and between school districts, and examines the problem of who pays for the schools. The foundation program, other State aid, enrichment, and the…

On October 2, 1989, the Texas Supreme Court, in the "Edgewood v. Kirby" decision, found the current school-finance system unconstitutional. The evolution of this decision, through its early origins, the establishment of the current structure (1949-81), House Bill 72 (1984), and Senate Bill 1019 (1989), is described. Also described are…

This document contains recommendations for changes in the Texas system of educational finance to improve educational opportunity for Mexican Americans and blacks. The report examines alternative methods of finance, focusing on methods for improving the existing property tax system. The authors recommend that the State (1) supervise and control…

In "Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby," the Texas Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state's school financial system violated the "efficiency" provision of the Texas Constitution. The court gave the legislature until May 1, 1990, to come forward with a constitutional school finance plan. (MLF)

This pamphlet is intended as a supplement to the booklet, "Recommendations for Legislative Consideration on Public Education in Texas," which was also published by the Texas Education Agency in November 1974. This pamphlet discusses a proposed state school finance plan developed by the State Board of Education and presents 12 specific…

This theme issue newsletter includes five articles on the theme of the coordinated, efficient, and equitable use of funds in educational programming. "A Successful Coordination of Funds and Programs Approach: Four Dimensions of the School Restructuring Process" (Abelardo Villarreal, Oanh H. Maroney) examines the interrelatedness of four…

This report describes a study aimed to help education advocates protect public schools and services from the effects of certain types of economic development subsidies. These subsidies include cutting companies' property taxes and granting long-term diversions of certain districts' property taxes to corporations making investment in those…

Three basic issues were examined in this study: (1) the variance in the purchasing power of the dollar among Texas school districts, (2) the variance in local property tax burden among Texas school districts, and (3) consideration of alternative Texas school finance formulas. Data used were from the data banks of the Texas Education Agency and…