Texas Supreme Court rules school finance system constitutional

[caption id="attachment_156355" align="alignright" width="220"] The state’s school finance system was deemed constitutional in mid-May.[/caption]

The Texas Supreme Court ended years of lawsuits between more than two-thirds of Texas school districts and the state when it declared the school funding process constitutional May 13.

Justice Don Willett delivered the unanimous opinion and validated the “recapture” or “Robin Hood” system in which property-rich districts are mandated by law to send a portion of their property tax revenue to the state to be redistributed among districts deemed property-poor.

“Our Byzantine school funding ‘system’ is undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement,” Willett wrote in the court’s 100-page opinion. “But it satisfies minimum constitutional requirements.”

In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott said the ruling is a “victory for Texas taxpayers and the Texas Constitution.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision ends years of wasteful litigation by correctly recognizing that courts do not have the authority to micromanage the state’s school finance system,” Abbott said.

James Crow, executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards, said in a statement the decision was unexpected and troubling.

“While we disagree with the court on the constitutionality of the Texas school finance system, we agree with them that the system is broken, and it is wrong,” he said. “It must be fixed. It is now up to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house and Texas Legislature to do the right thing and establish an appropriate school finance system.”