SAN ANTONIO -- Across the state, school districts have been tightening their belts, preparing for an anticipated $10 billion in cuts to education.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association told its members in January to brace for furloughs and layoffs, saying that the cuts to education will not be limited to teachers but also support staff and programs.
Among the programs targeted, Pre-K and the $1.3 billion the state normally allots for the program that educators say is crucial to early development of minds and the long-term prevention of dropouts.
Across south Texas, as many as 9,000 teachers and support staff could lose their jobs if the proposed cuts go into effect, with an estimated 100,000 teachers statewide out of work due to the budget.
While school districts have the ability to pass bonds to raise revenue, bond money can only be used to pay for physical needs, not personnel.
School districts say the funding cuts are not a result of a soft economy, but rather a broken system.
In 2006, the state capped school funding while cutting property taxes and implementing a new business franchise tax (margins tax) and a tax on cigarettes.
Both the business franchise tax and cigarette tax were designed to supplement the cuts to property tax revenue; however, the new tax system has run a $5 billion deficit every year, forcing the state to use federal bailout money in 2009 to balance the budget and pay for education.
Now, two years after the federal bailout, the state cannot pay for education and is in need of $27 billion to balance the budget.
The cap on school funding also created a double dip system for the state, where school districts get less money from the state if local property taxes increase.
Northside ISD found out about this double-dip in 2007 when Microsoft moved its data center to a building off Highway 151, inside the district's boundaries. The added revenue from the center actually lowered the money the state sends the district, resulting in no new money for Northside.
NISD Superintendent John Folks points out that the same basic principal applies when a homeowner's property appraisal increases. The added money doesn't head to the district, but rather the state.
Some state lawmakers have already begun to openly express concerns that the state could get sued by schools for not funding education.
San Antonio Rep. Mike Villarreal brought up the idea that a lawsuit would be inevitable if the cuts are passed, a sentiment echoed by Robert Scott, the head of the Texas Education Agency.
The state does have the ability to use the $9 billion rainy day fund to help offset the cuts to education. However, economists say while the fund might solve the problem this budget, unless the tax code is amended, the state will need another $10 billion in 2013, but no longer have the rainy day fund to turn to.
