It's time that the state of Texas stop using the top 10 percent rule to patch up the real problem. There needs to be equality in lower education before there can be equality in higher education.
Many qualified students are being rejected by state schools in Texas because they are not in the top 10 percent. This is a problem because not all high schools in Texas are equal. Some school districts are better funded than others, making a major difference in the top 10 percent in various schools. This is crucial, since 70 percent of the freshman class in 2003 were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class.
Students in well-funded districts often have higher competition to reach the top 10 percent. The rule may be helping the University create a more diverse student body (the 2003 freshman class is the first time an entering class at UT is less than 60 percent white), but it does not work by creating an equal baseline for admissions to evaluate all students regardless of race.
The first problem that needs fixing is lack of funding for lower education. Funding education through state property taxes is not working. Despite Robin Hood, some school districts pull in more money than others, and incentives for high test scores and attendance take funds away from schools that are suffering, aggravating the problem.
In addition, property taxes used to fund education in Texas are unfair to the elderly. As property value appreciates, their income cannot support it, especially after retirement. According to "Issues in Texas School Finance," as inflation increases, schools are having problems increasing revenue at a level equal to inflation. This has led to an increase in property taxes in many districts. "Issues" was a presentation by a senior policy analyst for Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and a researcher for the Legislature's Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance.
In other districts, schools have had to cut programs due to a cap on school property tax. The increase in taxes is further compounded by rising property values, which have shifted the majority of the cost of education away from the state and onto school districts.
As a result, schools have major funding problems. Teachers need pay raises, which, according to "Financing Public Education in Texas: Kindergarten through Grade 12: Legislative Primer," a report prepared by the Legislative Budget Board, is already more than 50 percent of school districts' budgets, and minimum salaries are mandated by state education code ยง21.402. According to the Texas Workforce Commission Web site, the average teacher salary in Texas is $38,857, and by 2008, Texas will need more than 82,000 more teachers.
This makes it hard for inner-city schools and small towns to find qualified teachers. It needs to be easier for them to become certified. Yes, teachers need to be qualified, but when there is a teacher shortage, obstacles such as requiring fingerprinting for teachers are asinine, especially when the teachers have to pay fees to be fingerprinted at police stations. These barriers frustrate new teachers before they even start work.
The state Legislature needs to do away with the property tax in favor of a statewide income tax. This would allow revenue to be spread out, ending inequality in district funding and helping the elderly throughout the state.
Furthermore, other states have income taxes that are non-taxable income at the federal level. This would mean that the federal government could help share the burden.
Another possibility is an increased sales tax; however, some items already have a heavy sales tax in certain parts of the state. Since sales tax rates vary in different locations throughout Texas, a sales tax increase might hurt some more than others. The state could tax items that are currently tax-exempt, but many of these items, such as milk, are non-taxable so that poor families can afford them.
An income tax would not harm families below the poverty line as much, while shifting part of the burden to the federal government through federal tax deductions.
Turner is a Plan II and history senior.
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