With Proposition 1, the so-called Robin Hood plan, dead, State legislators have been scrambling to come up with an alternative plan to meet a June 1 court order to equalize school funding.
Consolidation of school districts seemed to be the direction the legislators were headed. But the consolidation bill written by representative Libby Linebarger never made it to the House floor for a vote due to a lack of support among House members.
At Advocate press time, Senate Bill 1 was the leading alternative to Robin Hood as the court-imposed deadline approached. Under the plan, a business located within a wealthy school district will be put on the tax roles of a nearby, property-poor school district.
Enough business property would be transferred out of the district to bring total property wealth down to a legally acceptable level, about $280,000 per student.
Under this plan, the Dallas Independent School District would neither lose or gain commercial tax revenue, but the district will suffer a loss of money, approximately $35 million which it received for the ’92-’93 school year under the Robin Hood plan.
“We knew there would be a possibility that Robin Hood would be rejected, and we budgeted very conservatively,” says Chad Woolery, acting superintendent for DISD.
“All summer programs were already budgeted, so summer school will go on as planned.
“Obviously, we will have to trim our budget for ’93-’94,” Woolery says. The operating budget for this past year was approximately $600 million.
Some of the budget cuts Woolery mentioned include a 10 percent reduction at every department in administration and at each school campus. The cuts will not affect the teachers’ position or salaries, he says.
Other expected cuts include fewer equipment purchases, maintenance cutbacks, and a reduction in hiring.
