When I step out of my office in this handsome,where I grew up — a little town set amid the “mile-high” beauty of far West Texas, about 20 miles from Marfa — I glance across the street and see the small, brick Fort Davis High School building that was old when I was in school nearly a half century ago. Built in 1929, it lacks certain amenities, shall we say. At lunch time, I see students sitting outside under the trees and opening up their sack lunches, since we don’t have a cafeteria.
to all students, as required by the Texas Constitution. We also get federal funding, which benefits some districts more than others, but those funds have decreased over the last decade to a fraction of what they once were. I can tell you from years of experience in this position that Fort Davis ISD, like many other small rural school districts, has managed our taxpayers’ funds in the most frugal manner possible. We routinely achieve a “Superior” rating on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. Nevertheless, state funding for our district has steadily, and dramatically, decreased in the past decade. We expect funding to continue to drop for at least the next two years.
The state then basically directs that everything collected over our “allotment” returns to the state. These returned funds are known as “recapture,” commonly called the “Robin Hood” system. Due to our area’s artificially inflated property values, we’ve been labeled “property-rich” and have had our funds recaptured.
Public education is a joke. As a country we spend more money per child than most countries with poorer results. Funding is not the issue. It’s the allocation of those funds.
Virtually none of the residents in Fort Davis pay property taxes thanks to agricultural exemptions. How about Fort Davis residents pay for their own schools before demanding more money be siphoned from the cities through recapture?
Education (impartial history, civics, books) spur Critical Thinking. Republicans hate critical thinking. It flies in the face of talking points for the undereducated masses.
Property taxes are TOO DAMN HIGH!
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