By Loren Miller “It is admitted by all, that [a] cultivated mind is the guardian genius of...

By Loren Miller

“It is admitted by all, that [a] cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy, and, while guided and controlled by virtue,

is the noblest attribute of man”

Mirabeau B. LamarPresident, Republic of Texas, 1838

“Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.”

Aristotle

“Education is not the learning of facts,but the training of the mind to think.”

Albert Einstein

Herein lies a central problem withpublic school education in Texas. Students are being taught to take

a test, not necessarily toexercise their mind.

• There is a nearly universal recognition that a good education, certainly a high school diploma and hopefully a college degree, is a prerequisite to a good job, a productive life and a secure future.

• One cannot have a conversation about the future of the United States or Texas without the discussion turning to education and the preparation of tomorrow’s workforce.

• In today’s Texas workforce, over 40 percent of Hispanics lack a high school degree.

• Unless educational attainment among Texas Hispanics improves significantly in coming decades, Texas will be a less productive and poorer state.

“The future of Texas is tied to its minority populations. How well they do

is how well Texas will do.”

Steve Murdoch, demographer

Texas A&M University

Public Education in Texas

• The Texas Declaration of Independence highlighted the failure of the Mexican government to establish public schools as one cause of the revolution.

• Prior to the revolution and after, Germans were quick to establish free public schools, but immigrants out of the American South were not.– The wealthy either had plantation schools or sent

their children to private schools in the East.


• The Republic of Texas set aside land in each county for public schools as well as land to establish a state university.

– In typical Texas fashion, they allocated no money.

– There was no public support for school taxation. Any attempt to establish free public schools would have been condemned.


• The statehood Constitution of 1845 renewed the call for public schools.

– “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of this State to make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of public schools.”

Article 10, Section 1


• The statehood Constitution of 1845 also called for a statewide property tax to fund free public schools, as well as an annual appropriation of ten percent of state revenues to build a permanent fund to support the schools.

– The Texas courts held that the assessment of general taxes for education was unconstitutional.

– Texans who could afford to do so depended upon private academies and tutors.

Article 10, Section 2


• When Reconstruction ended a new constitution was written in 1876.

– “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature . . . to establish and make suitable provision for . . . An efficient system of public free schools.”

– “Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children . . . .

Article VII, Section 1

Article VII, Section 7

San Antonio v. Rodriguez, 1973

• The Edgewood school district had one of the highest property tax rates in the country, but could only raise $37 per pupil.

• The neighboring Alamo Heights school district was able to raise $413 per pupil with a much lower property tax rate.

• A federal district court ruled that this was a violation of the equal protection clause.– The U.S. Supreme Court reversed this by stating

that this was something that would have to be addressed in terms of Texas’s state constitution.

Edgewood v. Kirby, 1989

• In the decade after Rodriguez, Texas enacted a series of “equalization” reforms but failed to reduce significantly the inequities in access to resources.

• Edgewood ISD (funded by MALDEF) argued that the state’s public school finance system violated the Texas Constitution which required the state to provide for an efficient and free public school system.– A unanimous Texas Supreme Court agreed.


• The economic depression of the late 19th century put public schools in Texas under pressure.

– In 1890, Texas per pupil expenditures were 63 percent of the U.S. average.

– In 1900, Texas per pupil expenditures were 56 percent of the U.S. average.

– Texas spent more per diem than any other southern state, but still ranked in the bottom quarter of all states.


• There were vast differences between urban and rural schools and white and black schools.

– Urban schools: in session 162 days a year and spent an average of $8.35/student.

– Rural schools: in session 98 days a year and spent an average of $3.34/student (provided no more than “functional literacy”).

– White schools: spent an average of $10/year per student.

– Black schools: spent an average of $5.74/year per student.

1910


• Texas adopted compulsory attendance laws in 1915– Only Georgia and Mississippi did not have compulsory

attendance laws by that date.

• In 1917, Congress passed legislation providing funds for the salaries of industrial arts and home economics teachers.– Texas did not provide the matching funds for this

program

• Free school text books were approved in 1918.


• In 1919, voters approved a constitutional amendment to raise taxes to supplement state education funds.– “Texas, first in size, first in agricultural products, first in

production of cotton, third in production of oil, seventh in wealth, thirty-ninth in education. Shall Texas keep the rank?”

• Pro reform campaign advertisement

• Even after the passage of this amendment, Texas spent 63 percent of the national average per student in 1930.


• In the 1920s, Texas historian Frederick Elby blamed an inattentive public and scheming politicians for the failure to do a better job regarding public education.– “Flattered by the boasts of office-seeking

politicians . . . [Texans] were firmly persuaded that their schools were among the best in the nation.” (Sound familiar?)

• By 1940 Texas spending on education reached 73 percent of the national average per pupil.


• During World War II, Texas had one of the highest rejection rates for military service because of illiteracy.– The national average was 12 percent; the Texas

average was 23 percent.– The more money that a state spent on education, the

fewer military rejections

• As Texas became more urban and industrial after World War II, attitudes toward education began to change.


• In 1949, the Texas Legislature passed three bills that impact public school education in Texas to this day:– Created a State Board of Education elected by the

people.– A professional Commissioner of Education appointed

by the Board.• In 1995, the legislature changed this to a

gubernatorial appointment– A State Department of Education to serve as a

professional and clerical staff of the Commissioner and the Board.

• Opponents called these reforms “communistic”

“We don’t need [federal aid] and the federal money ought not be taken into the school system

because control follows tax dollar.”

Alan Shivers, Texas GovernorDecember 1, 1953

“All my instincts, my political philosophy, my experiencesand my common sense revolt against the Supreme

Court decision. It is an unwarranted invasion ofthe constitutional rights of the states . . . . My

administration has already told the local schooldistricts that, as far as the state of Texas is

concerned, there are no changes to be made.”

Alan Shivers, Texas GovernorReaction to Brown v. Board of Education

May 1954


• Both Dallas and Houston as well as all of East Texas resisted integration.

• In 1955, three black students attempted to enroll in Mansfield High School. Several hundred white protestors massed on the school grounds to block student access. – When parents and lawyers appealed to Governor

Shivers for help, his response was:

“‘It is not my intention to permit the use of state officers ortroops to shoot down intimated Texas citizens who are

making orderly protest against a situation instigated and agitated by the National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People”

• When the NAACP filed a lawsuit in Tyler, Judge Otis Dunagan issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the NAACP from filing lawsuits in the state.

• It took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to break the back of segregation in Texas.– In 1963, 4.3 percent of black students were attending school with whites.– In 1965, 17.2 percent of black students were attending school with whites.– In 1967, 44.9 percent of black students were attending school with whites.– In 1972, 92 percent of black students were attending school with whites.

“Don’t think this is a suit against the nigger people . . . . Actually it isn’t. It’s true it [NAACP] is an organization for the nigger people, but after all, three fourths of its directors are

white people . . . . I ain’t got nothing against the nigger people.”


• By the late 1970s race as an issue had receded and quality of education came into focus.– In 1983, Governor Mark White called upon Ross Perot to

head a “Select Committee on Public Education.”• These reforms made teacher competence and

student learning the twin-engines of enhanced academic performance.

– In 1984, the Texas Legislature passed legislation to support the Committee’s recommendations.

• Teachers received pay raises in exchange for tougher credentialing standards and competency testing.

• Students were held to more stringent attendance and promotion standards.

Public Education in Texas• The Perot Commission’s student reforms included:

– An extensive program of testing and remediation for students in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12 grades.

– An exit exam for high school graduation.– “No pass, no play”

• At the same time, questions about how Texas funds its public schools moved toward center stage.– In addition to the state’s Minimum Foundation Program,

Texas schools depended on local property tax revenues.• The Texas Supreme Court ruled that since there was

such wide variation between districts that this violated the state constitution.

– Not financially efficient– Did not provide for a general diffusion of knowledge


• In 1995, the legislature passed the “Robin Hood” school funding bill.– Revenues from high property tax districts were reallocated

to low property tax districts.– For the next ten years, more and more school districts

complained that their students were being denied enrichment opportunities to fund activities in property-poor districts.

• Knowing that Texas rarely spends money unless it is ordered to by state or federal courts, property wealthy districts went to court and won.

– Does not promote a general diffusion of knowledge

West Orange-Cove CISD v. Neeley, 2004


• A new funding bill was passed in 2005 which lowered local property taxes by one-third, enacted a broad new business tax and increase the cigarette tax.– The state’s share of funding, which had dropped from 80

percent in 1949 to 35 percent, rose to 50 percent.– Local district’s share dropped from 55 percent to 40

percent.– The federal share remained around 10 percent.

• However, the business tax revenue came in lower than expected which put a crimp on the local districts.


• Texas school administrators have been in a 150 year long struggle with Texas politicians over school funding.– Almost always the politicians have won because of their

promise of no new taxes.• Does a low tax rate do a disservice to Texas school

children?

“Texans value education in the abstract . . . . At the same time, Texans manifest a cultural attitude that educators are incompetent, underworked,

and wasteful of public funds. These competing themes lead to a boom and bust cycle in education policy, years of ignoring educational needs, followed by a sudden realization that problems have developed requiring

a massive infusion of funds.”

Nelson Dometrius, 1987


“Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell.”

-- Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball, 2003)


• Oversight of Texas education is divided between two bodies: the elected State Board of Education and the commissioner of education who is appointed by the governor to run the Texas Education Agency.

• Today, the greater power over state education is in the hands of the commissioner of education through control of the Texas Education Agency.– Accredits and rates schools– Oversees testing of elementary and secondary students– Distributes state and federal funds and monitors compliance with

federal guidelines– Grants waivers to schools seeking charter status and exemptions

from certain state regulations


• The authority of the State Board of Education has been whittled down because many SBOE members have embarrassed the legislature because of some of the extreme ideological positions taken by members.– Curriculum approval for each subject and grade– Textbook review for the public schools

• The TEA distributes more than 48 million textbook each year

– Management of the investments of the Permanent School Fund (this pays for textbooks and guarantees bonds for school districts)

TEXAS SPENDING PER PUPIL AS A PERCENTOF U.S. SPENDING PER PUPIL

DesegregationBattle

TEXAS TEACHER PAY AS A PERCENTOF U.S. TEACHER PAY

DesegregationBattle

TEXAS ANNUAL ACADEMIC TESTINGPASS RATES

TOTAL WHITE BLACK HISPANICTASS1994 56 69 33 411995 61 75 38 461996 67 80 47 541997 73 85 56 621998 78 88 63 681999 78 88 64 702000 80 89 68 722001 82 90 72 762002 85 93 77 80

TAKS2003 47 61 30 352004 57 71 40 462005 62 76 45 522006 67 81 52 582007 70 82 55 622008 72 84 58 652009 74 86 62 682010 77 87 66 71

PERCENTAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATESUS TEXAS

TOTAL WHITE BLACK HISPANIC

1950 34 30 36 14

1960 41 38 43 20

1970 55 47 57 50 36 39

1980 69 64 72 51 45

1990 78 75 81 76 66 66 51 45

2000 84 76 88 80 79 76 57 49

2008 85 79 90 91 80 83 61 57

SAT SCORES FOR THE U.S. AND TEXASUS TEXAS

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