Texas Republicans Won’t Budge on School Spending After Ruling
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The Eanes school district in suburban Austin, Texas, spent $7,921 per student last year. Twenty miles away, the Pflugerville school district, whose population includes far more low-income students, spent about $1,000 less, resulting in lower teacher salaries and more children for every special education teacher.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. A state formula for distributing money -- approved seven years ago, after the Texas Supreme Court found the previous formula to be unconstitutional -- was designed partly to promote equality between rich and poor districts with big gaps in property tax collections.