Eltife and Merritt file school bill

Rep. Tommy Merritt (R-Longview) filed legislation to cut property taxes, provide health insurance coverage for school employees and buy updated textbooks for schools. A similar bill was filed in the senate by Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) and Rodney Ellis (D-Houston).

“With the demise of the school finance bills (HB 2 and HB 3) last week, Texas must not leave school children, taxpayers, and teachers hanging out to dry. If passage of a comprehensive bill ending Robin Hood is not possible, the Legislature must at least address these three vital issues,” Merritt stated.

Merritt filed a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday, HJR 24, that increases the homestead exemption from the current $15,000 to $22,500. A companion bill, HB 53, pledges state aid to ensure school districts will not lose revenue from the increased property exemption. HB 53 was filed on Friday and referred to the Select Committee on Education Reform yesterday.

Merritt’s proposals would provide at least $1,000 per year toward health insurance coverage for each eligible school employee. He said the insurance was promised school employees two years ago and then promptly taken away.

Eltife’s plan would provide $1,000 pay raise for teachers in the first year and an additional $1,000 in the second year.

Both would authorize the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to use $295 million of its appropriation to purchase new textbooks for students.

“We must not leave Austin with money sitting in the state treasury while these needs go unmet,” Merritt said. “The Legislature must handle problems one issue at a time if necessary. It is our duty to the taxpayers, the schoolchildren, and the State of Texas. I'm looking forward to working with Sen. (Kevin) Eltife on similar legislation in the Senate.”

Eltife said Texas can afford to invest more in its schools. Texas currently ranks 39th in state aid per pupil; 50th in high school graduation rate; 48th in SAT scores; and 32nd in average teacher salaries.

Over the past decade, the state share of education funding has continued to drop. In 1993-94, the first year of the current Robin Hood, the state share of education funding stood at 45.2 percent; today, the state share has dropped to 36.3 percent.

“We must continue our efforts to find a way to provide much needed property tax relief and greater accountability in school budgets, but we should not leave this special session without providing critical funding for textbooks and teacher pay raises,” Eltife said. “I am hopeful this bill will receive support from both the House and Senate.”

Neither chamber met today; both the Senate and the House are to resume the session tomorrow.