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Texas Property Tax Ruled Unconstitutional
by Steve
11/22/2005 04:23:00 PM
The Texas State Supreme Court ruled that the State's system of using property taxes to fund public schools is unconstitutional.
I don't know about enough about Texas' laws on taxation, nor do I know anything about its constitution. My guess is that the property tax system of funding public schools is no different in principle than it is in other states, but perhaps Texas' constitution is such that it creates a conflict.
But I wanted to throw out some observations.
Here in Southern California, there are families that utilize the public school system, when in fact they can easily afford private schooling. My niece tried to get her son into a private elementary school but was shut out due to a very limited number of seats available. So, she put him into a public school.
In fact, families all over Orange County, CA could just as well afford private schools, but can't get in due to a lack of supply. I don't know the laws and regulations on private schools, but it seems odd that there is such a huge demand, and not enough supply.
Also, what's wrong with public schools charging tuition? State-run colleges still charge tuition. Even if it was a nominal charge, of something like $500.00 a year, it would not only help fund schools, but would also encourage middle-income families to look into private schools.
There's also politics at play. In the town where I live, there are charter schools that have submitted applications to the local school board, but were denied because they were faith-based. Under the charter school system, private schools are allowed to set up, charge low tuitions, and get some additional funding from the public school fund.
There's also the illegal alien factor. When I grew up in Santa Ana, my next-door neighbor rented out his two-car garage to an illegal alien family. They had eight children in all, making it ten people total living in a two-car garage. They utilized the public school system, but didn't pay property taxes because they were renters.
The families who need the public school system the most, end up paying for it the least. Moreover, families who can afford private schools find themselves shut out due to a lack of supply. That's two reasons why our existing public school system is self-defeating.
I like the idea of using sales taxes to fund public schools instead.
I don't know about enough about Texas' laws on taxation, nor do I know anything about its constitution. My guess is that the property tax system of funding public schools is no different in principle than it is in other states, but perhaps Texas' constitution is such that it creates a conflict.
But I wanted to throw out some observations.
Here in Southern California, there are families that utilize the public school system, when in fact they can easily afford private schooling. My niece tried to get her son into a private elementary school but was shut out due to a very limited number of seats available. So, she put him into a public school.
In fact, families all over Orange County, CA could just as well afford private schools, but can't get in due to a lack of supply. I don't know the laws and regulations on private schools, but it seems odd that there is such a huge demand, and not enough supply.
Also, what's wrong with public schools charging tuition? State-run colleges still charge tuition. Even if it was a nominal charge, of something like $500.00 a year, it would not only help fund schools, but would also encourage middle-income families to look into private schools.
There's also politics at play. In the town where I live, there are charter schools that have submitted applications to the local school board, but were denied because they were faith-based. Under the charter school system, private schools are allowed to set up, charge low tuitions, and get some additional funding from the public school fund.
There's also the illegal alien factor. When I grew up in Santa Ana, my next-door neighbor rented out his two-car garage to an illegal alien family. They had eight children in all, making it ten people total living in a two-car garage. They utilized the public school system, but didn't pay property taxes because they were renters.
The families who need the public school system the most, end up paying for it the least. Moreover, families who can afford private schools find themselves shut out due to a lack of supply. That's two reasons why our existing public school system is self-defeating.
I like the idea of using sales taxes to fund public schools instead.
2 Comments:
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The Texas thing is a continuation of a long-standing issue. Several other states' school funding systems have similarly been found to be unconstitutional. The problem you see is with rich people in big houses in wealthy towns or counties funding their own schools with their own wealth. This causes poorer towns and counties to have "substandard" educational systems. Property taxes are levied and collected at the town and county level in most states excluding Ohio but even there (where the school funding has similarly been found unconstitutional), the taxes are based upon county level decisions. Texas chose to alter its property taxes in a manner which the state Supreme Court found to be unconstitutional under the state constitution. They'll just have to try again.
Sales tax or any tax levied at the state level would be a decent way to fund education. But don't forget that sales taxes are regressive. If you live in a place where the cost of living is $50K per year, a person who makes $50K gets taxed on 100% of income (and theoretical outflow) while a person earning $100K essentially gets taxed on 50%. Property taxes are not necessarily any better but the tax is ad valorem or based on wealth rather than spending. So the wealthy pay for the poor's schools rather than the poor paying for the wealthy's schools as they would under a sales tax regime.
As for private school, while anecdotal evidence might suggest that there is an underabundance of private schooling available in SoCal, it is far more available there than it is in the rest of the country. Most places rely on public schools. California residents rely on private schooling far more than the rest of the country. But because the movement from public to private tends to grow into an avalanche, supply has not yet caught up to demand. And the results are not pretty. California public schools do not compete with many top states because so many people have abandoned them and few care much about them any more.By
Dave, at 7:51 PM, November 22, 2005
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I think by stating that its a rich vs. poor issue is indeed simplifying the issues. The fact of the matter is, even with the Robinhood program, Texas schools are terrible. Its unfortunate that I must not only pay for a school system my family does not utilize, but I must also pay private school tuition b/c honestly, the public schools are not a realistic choice. I'm by no means wealthy, I am a homeowner and have to really budget in order to put my daughter through private school. It'd be nice if I could have a voucher, or better yet, could "opt-out" of the school property tax since I don't utilize the damn thing. It'd be one thing if the redistribution of monies actually worked, but it doesn't. All I see are the poor school districts getting new football stadiums, not more books. The school property tax puts a nice dent in my wallet, about a $4000 a year dent.
By
, at 12:03 AM, November 24, 2005
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A political blog mixing conservative New Jersey with libertarian California.
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