The legislative session is upon us… And the same old issues will be debated again. However, there will be new information (some of which may be mis-information), and there will be new things to.deal with. Neither my position nor my passion for public education has not changed. However, some old issues, neatly wrapped in new packaging, will be touted as “new and improved”. Don't fail to look back, examine the origin and note that perception is absolutely reality at the Capitol. Focus on changing the perceptions because the facts have not changed.

Today, I am sharing this Equity Center article related to the Rainy Day Fund, It deals with perceptions versus reality. I know and respect the both the author, Wayne Pierce, and the quotes from Paul Colbert, a man whose reporting can be relied on. The Rainy Day Fund will be a topic of much discussion during this legislative session.

The Rainy Day Fund, Part One: Its Original Intent

12-7-2016l An Equity Center Publication l Volume 7, Number 36

Paul Colbert is a good friend of Texas children, the Equity Center, and public education in general. He is a former state-representative who refers to himself as the "formerly-honorable" Paul Colbert and, in my mind, is the best school finance mind that has ever served in the Texas Legislature. We are very lucky he works for us.

Paul was very much involved when the RDF (Economic Stabilization Fund) was first adopted in 1988. He explained the original reason for the RDF as follows:

Just before the adoption of the RDF, Texas had suffered a serious economic downturn that significantly affected the state's ability to maintain programs. The RDF was necessary to avoid the disastrous consequences of severe cuts to education, health and human services, roads, and a multitude of other programs that touch all Texans in some significant way. It would look like this:

And, if the decline in revenue were not too severe, the RDF would be able to entirely (or nearly so) bridge the gap between the normal times preceding and following a downturn.

The RDF is funded mostly by taxes from oil and gas, and with the tremendous boon we have received due to shale oil/gas deposits, the RDF has stayed pretty flush in recent years. In fact, it stands at just over $10 billion currently and is expected to further increase during the remaining months of the current biennium and the next.

This past week the Joint Committee to Determine a Sufficient Balance of the Economic Stabilization Fund, which is composed of five members of the Senate appointed by the lt. governor and five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, established a floor that the fund must not drop below in the new budget to be written this spring. That floor is $7.5 billion, an amount the Committee feels is sufficient for emergencies that might arise. That means about $3 billion is available for other purposes.

We will discuss more about what that means in the next ECX, because the RDF will be an important factor this coming session-and you need to know some things about it for the good of public education!

This is a good place to start understanding the legislative process because our state is entering another economic downturn. - js - webmaster@texasisd.com