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Neeley v. West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School Dist.11/22/2005
al, as there would have been little financing left over for schools without it.
By comparison, nothing about the Article VIII claim here inevitably extends to the whole school-finance system. Surely a single violation of Article VIII anywhere cannot justify an injunction shutting down school finances everywhere.
The Court says the current system cannot survive without the tax-rate cap, because "for districts that need additional revenue, the funding system would be inefficient." But the Court cannot have it both ways - if school districts "need" more funding, then current funding cannot be adequate for a general diffusion of knowledge; conversely, if the current funding is adequate (as the Court explicitly holds), then the cap only affects supplemental spending. As the Texas Constitution does not guarantee equal supplemental spending, the cap is hardly "central" to a constitutional system.
Of course, it is no mystery why the plaintiff school districts never asked for narrower relief. If only section 45.003(d) were declared unconstitutional, they would once again have meaningful discretion to set tax rates as they wish, and could raise them to pay for all the programs they say their communities demand. But they also might find out at the next election that their beliefs about community demand were somewhat exaggerated.
Instead, by enjoining school-finance across the state, the school districts here hope to obtain funding from sources other than those within their own borders. Raising revenues from outside sources is unlikely to make school districts more accountable or more efficient. Neither equity nor the Texas Constitution allows school districts to demand supplemental programs on condition that someone else pay for them.
The Court closes by reminding the Legislature how important education is to the future of this State and its people. This seems an odd way to conclude an opinion that rejects every claim except that the Legislature has imposed a statewide ad valorem tax. If our goal is to improve education, we should not enjoin the entire school-finance system on collateral grounds to pressure the Legislature to change it.
But we should demand efficiency, as that is what the Texas Constitution requires. Recognizing the common meaning of "efficient" would not require us to abandon our previous school-finance cases, or the equity for Texas schools they require. But we cannot keep overlooking the one standard the Texas Constitution explicitly demands. Nor do we help Texas school children by insisting "efficient" means nothing beyond equal access to taxes.
Someday, the Texas school system must become "efficient" by 21st century standards. As that is what the Texas Constitution requires, we should start that process today.
Scott Brister Justice
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