Robin Hood V. Horatio Alger: how we talk about school finance

Abstract

In October 1989, the Texas Public School System came under fire. At issue was the method of financing the public schools. Because Texas's school finance system relied heavily on locally levied property taxes, tax rates and financial resources varied across districts as widely as did the property values. The Supreme Court of Texas' decision in Edgewood v. Kirby set the agenda for education policy in Texas, as it ordered the Texas Legislature to find a new, more equitable way of financing Texas' public schools. This decision caused vehement debate and prolonged negotiations, as the Legislature struggled to reach a consensus on an alternative finance system that would satisfy the Court. This thesis examines the judicial and legislative deliberations starting with Edgewood I in 1989 and going through to 1994, when the Supreme Court, in Edgewood IV, ruled the Legislature's third attempt at reform a success. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the place and purpose of values/ideographs in the deliberations, thus learning more about both education policy and the court-ordered policy-making process.