|
 |
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|||
May 2006 • Volume 3, Issue 5 This issue home | Past issues | Chamber home Board Adopts Position On Public School Finance A three-part position statement on public school finance was adopted by the RCC’s board of directors at its April 26 meeting. The resolution commends to the Texas Legislature:
The board adopted the position on the recommendation of the Public Affairs Committee, which will send signed copies of the resolution to state officials and elected representatives in the Texas Legislature. The Legislature is currently in special session to find a solution to public school finance under the pressure of a state district court mandate. The Texas Supreme Court ruled the current property tax system was unconstitutional and the state has until June of this year to enact legislation solving the constitutional question. The approval of the position paper by the Chamber board comes approximately a year after the board adopted a general position of public school finance during regular session of the Legislature at the time. In part the original resolution supports the belief that the Legislature, not the courts, should decide the issue, that public schools should continue to be funded equitably, and should be funded at a level that should allow all students to pass each of the required and appropriate state accountability tests. The 2005 position paper also states that local school property taxes should be significantly reduced, and such local school property tax revenue should be replaced by a combination of existing and new state revenue sources that in combination replaces and increases the current level of financial support for public schools. John Sharp, the chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission, outlined the commission’s recommendations to Gov. Rick Perry at the Chamber’s Signature Luncheon on April 13. Under the TTRC proposal, Sharp explained the Legislature should cut school district property taxes for maintenance and operations. The rate should be lowered to $1 per $100 and permanently re-capped at no more that $1.30 per $100. Reductions for the 2006 tax year sufficient to comply with the Supreme Court’s mandate must be provided immediately. Additionally the legislature should reform the state’s franchise tax by broadening the base of businesses that pay into the system, cutting the franchise tax rate from 4.5 percent to one percent and changing the underlying base of the franchise tax. Action News is a monthly publication of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce Communications Department. Contact the editor. To unsubscribe, e-mail administrator@telecomcorridor.com. Please provide your name, company, phone number and e-mail address. |
|
Top Stories
More Top Stories In Every Issue |
