Texas lawmakers work on the details of compromise
AUSTIN — Educators, students and parents chanted "We're watching! We vote!" outside the Texas House chamber Saturday as legislative negotiators privately worked to complete a budget plan that will cut billions.
"It's an attack on children, period, from birth through college," said Michael Jones of Cypress, who works in an early childhood intervention program in Harris County.
Jones was part of the small but vocal group of about 50 that provided a counterpoint as lawmakers publicly worked their way through legislation and budget negotiators worked behind closed doors.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who walked through the protesters on a legislative errand to the House, said, "School districts have to do the same as individuals and businesses and tighten their belts."
Details were still being hammered out on the compromise between the House and Senate versions of a budget for the next two years, and on school finance and revenue bills that are required to fund it.
But lawmakers did agree to enough funding for programs, including TEXAS Grants, to allow new students to get financial aid, as envisioned by the Senate version of the budget
The barebones House version would have scotched the award of new TEXAS Grants, continuing them only to students already receiving them. The Senate version, according to an analysis, would have scaled back the program by 10 percent.
"A lot more students will be able to rely on financial aid to go to college. It's a plus for our students," said Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, one of the negotiators.
But like other budget pluses, it's relative to where the House budget started in the face of a shortfall estimated at $25 billion through the next two years.
Leaders have stood against new taxes and backed only limited use of the rainy day fund savings account.
The House initially backed a two-year state budget totaling $164.5 billion in state and federal funds, cutting $23 billion, or 12.3 percent, from current spending. The Senate's budget would spend $8.3 billion more, cutting spending by about 7.7 percent.
A bill approved by the House Saturday that provides extra revenue crucial to balancing the budget is estimated to make available about $3 billion more, with up to $2.3 billion of that due to slightly deferring a state payment to school districts.
The deferral makes more money available because it delays the last payment of the upcoming two-year fiscal period, which ends Aug. 31, 2013. Pushing it back to September 2013 puts it into the next budget, giving lawmakers the extra money to use earlier.
The revenue bill, which earlier won Senate approval but was revised in the House, is expected to be the subject of negotiations along with the budget.
HISD affected
On spending, negotiators earlier had broadly agreed to an approximately $1.3 billion state general revenue cut to higher education, which softened an earlier cut backed by the House. They now are looking at how to allocate the money.
They also agreed to a public education funding level that would cut back spending by $4 billion through the next two years compared with what schools would get under current formulas. That's about half the cut earlier backed by the House.
Exactly how that money will be allocated is still being determined by lawmakers. The Senate passed a school finance plan Friday night, but a different plan has developed in the House, which is expected to take up the issue Monday.
Under the Senate-passed school finance plan, Houston Independent School District would lose about $225 million over the next two years or a per-student cut of $428 next year and $490 the following year.
Houston ISD school board President Paula Harris doesn't like the plan. "Any school funding proposal that penalizes school districts such as HISD for being good stewards of our resources and keeping tax rates low is unfair to Houston taxpayers at a time when so many families and businesses are struggling to pay their bills," she said.
'A tipping point'
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD — the state's third-largest school district — would lose about $30.5 million next year under the Senate plan and $16.2 million the following year. The cuts amount to about $231 per student next year and $118 million for the 2012-13 school year.
"Cuts of this magnitude cannot be minimized for a district like CFISD that has already made $72 million in reductions over the past four years and decreased staffing in a growing district by 900 positions," Cy-Fair assistant superintendent Kelli Durham said.
"We have maintained 'recognized' status in the state's accountability system during these years, and we have been highlighted as one of the most efficient school systems in the nation. However, there is a tipping point and in all likelihood it may be reached if current proposed legislation is passed," Durham said.
She described Cy-Fair as "an informed community that understands that state officials will be making decisions in the next few days, which may have an irreversible affect on the future of children. "
Mental health services hit
In criminal justice, cuts include closing the Central Unit in Sugar Land for a savings of $25 million over the two-year budget period in operational costs. Inmates would be transferred to other facilities.
In health and human services, the proposed budget wouldn't cover $4.8 billion due to anticipated Medicaid caseload growth, meaning lawmakers would have to act quickly to fund the program when they return in regular session in 2013.
Community mental health services for adults would be cut 4 percent and for children by 2 percent. Community mental health crisis services wouldn't be cut from current spending levels. Community mental health funding is seen as crucial, including for people who may otherwise wind up in jail.
The Harris County Jail already is the largest public mental health facility in Texas, a situation advocates have called wrong and costly.
"It could have been much worse, but the situation was already horrible," said Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Alan Bernstein. "It's not just a financial concern. It's a moral concern."
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