$830 million on tap in federal aid for Texas schools
The news that Texas likely will receive $830 million in federal aid for public schools was greeted warmly by local educators and other officials as the state struggles with a massive budget shortfall.
The Texas Legislature is working on a final budget plan — in which one option is to cut spending on public education by as much as $10 billion. Overall, the state is facing a budget shortfall of as much as $27 billion.
The federal money earmarked for Texas comes as part of the budget deal negotiated to avoid a federal government shutdown. If passed into law, the deal would remove the strings a Democratic congressman had attached to the money in hopes of forcing Gov. Rick Perry to spend it on public education.
The congressman in question, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said in a statement Tuesday that he hoped Texas lawmakers would use the money to fill an $8 billion gap in public school funding over the next two years.
State Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, said the money will indeed help the budget process.
She said she is unsure how the money will be distributed, either through the state or directly to the school districts.
Joey Light, superintendent of the Wylie Independent School District, said via cellphone from Dallas that he is happy to hear that the state is slated to receive the money but he is always concerned about mandates that come with the such federal funding.
“In my opinion, it is our tax money and it should come back to us,” Light said.
Heath Burns, superintendent of the Abilene Independent School District, said he is happy with the news but expressed concern over how the money will be allocated.
“I am pleased that Texas will receive the $830 million in federal funds; however, I will not breathe easy until the funds are delivered to ISDs in a manner that does not ultimately supplant the state’s burden,” Burns said.
“It is my understanding the federal dollars are intended to be supplemental in nature. I hope they are used to that end,” he said.
Thomas Kim, former president of McMurry University and now a part-time economics professor at Hardin-Simmons University, told the Reporter-News that the money will help cut the state’s huge deficit.
“But the situation is still grave no matter how you put it,” Kim said.
Kim said the recession is easing in Texas, and as the economy rebounds the state will draw more revenue. He also said the state needs to find additional revenue sources.
Kim questioned state lawmakers’ reluctance to use the Rainy Day Fund, saying it was designed for these type of budgetary situations.
“It is set up for times like this,” he said. “Their refusal to use it is hard to understand.”
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