LISD Academic Advocates

1. Call to Order and Pledge. President Elizabeth Frey called the meeting to order in the CPMS Cafeteria at 7:08. Those present recited the pledge.

2. Secretary's report. E. Mittag pointed out the minutes for the November and January meetings, but in the interests of time, approval was delayed until the March meeting.

3. Program: Rep. Dan Gattis : Achieving Education Excellence for Texas: A Dialogue with Parents and Educators on School Finance, Educating All Children and Rewarding Excellence in the Classroom.

E. Mittag introduced Rep. Gattis and he began his remarks by commenting that the diversity of District 20 encompasses many of the conflicting issues in Texas education finance since it includes both high growth and declining enrollment school districts, districts that are both rural and urban, those with varying minority/economically disadvantaged populations and a wide variation in tax-levying ability among the districts. These districts have very different priorities and needs depending on their situation. Rep. Gattis focused on local control as the cornerstone of what he considers will work best in reforming the school finance situation which is currently vulnerable to court challenges with a lawsuit pending this summer. Although the Governor has focused on plans that remain revenue-neutral, others are concerned that this will not adequately fund the growing student populations across the state. Rep. Gattis discussed the following elements as those he sees as providing some possibilities for solving some of the problems with the current plan.
1. Halve the $1.50 local property tax and shift the $.75 per $100 to a state collected tax possibly in the form of increased sales, 'sin' and/or business services taxes (may require a Constitutional amendment).
2. Return the money to the schools on a per pupil basis using a Cost of Education Index comprised of factors such as the Consumer Price Index, cost of living factor, district size, percent non-English speaking/economically disadvantaged/minority students, etc.
3. Focus accountability on meeting state education goals such as achievement of high TAKS passing rates and other 'production statistics' such as graduation rates, retention rates, percent students completing Algebra by 9th grade, etc. rather than dictating how districts should spend their money to achieve these goals.
4. Allowing local districts the flexibility to allocate their funds any way they choose to drive efficiency in meeting the state education goals.
5. Schools should receive no less than what they are receiving today.
6. Local districts may be allowed to raise 10-15 cents for locally determined enrichment programs. (voter approval required)
7. Need more transparent school budgeting process so taxpayers know exactly where their tax dollars are going.

Rep. Gattis responded to a number of questions from the audience regarding these points and lively discussion ensued.

4. Announcements:
a. Next meeting, Wednesday, March 24, 2004 7 p.m., CPMS Library
b. Scholarship application deadline March 15, 2004
c. Regional Spelling Bee at CC Mason on Friday, February 27


5. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Erika Mittag
Secretary