Most Texans would rather sell a favorite horse than vote for a tax hike that promises bigger government. Yet San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has not only persuaded his constituents to spend $248 million to pay for an unusual and ambitious preschool program for poor 4-year-olds, but he is also going to open doors in August--a mere nine months after…

Contains the full text of the Texas case finding that the current method of funding public education in that State violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. (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)

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…

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…