Posted
11/22/2005 05:25:00 PM
by Douglas
Is there any topic Texans hate more than School Tax Reform? I don't think so. So when The Texas Supreme Court today declared the school finance system
unconstitutional, that would cause most taxpayers to stand up and take note, right? Probably not:
The Texas Supreme Court today struck down a key part of the state's public school funding system and gave the Legislature until June 1 to correct the problem.
The ruling, which partly upholds and partly reverses a state district court decision issued last year, means Gov. Rick Perry will have to call still another special session of the Legislature to tackle the problem.
The high court held 7-1 that the $1.50 per $100 valuation cap on local school maintenance taxes amounts to an unconstitutional statewide property tax because many school districts are at or near the limit.
Hold on. . . .I kinda got lost on that last part. Why is it that because "many school districts are at or near the limit" does the law become "unconstitutional?" Sounds like school districts are spending faster than they're growing, and
much faster than their tax base is growing. So why is it suddenly "unconstitutional" that they're out of money? Does that somehow give them the right to extort
more money from the proletariat they so saccharinely claim to educate?
Or am I just pissed off because I've got a tax bill due?