January 19th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Star-Telegram, the opening of a new school in the Crowley district is on hold indefinitely. Basically there isn’t enough money to open the school and pay for the teachers and other school staff needed.
The article said:
"Driving by those buildings every day is a painful reminder of the failed state funding formula," said Greg Gibson, the Crowley district superintendent. The intermediate schools "were approved and started about the same time we were realizing the nature of the changes to the state formula," he said.
Although the new state funding formula and rules may have something to do with this debacle, the root of the problem is that Texas is running out of money for schools and other infrastructure because of the massive amount of foreclosures and the credit crisis. Homeowners help to pay for schools with their property taxes; but when you have tens of thousands of homeowners losing their homes in foreclosure the tax base used to fund schools slowly dries up. Don’t be surprised if you begin to see more job losses in Texas’ school districts.
The article continues hinting at the real reason:
Everman Superintendent Jeri Pfeifer and her staff had an emergency meeting this week after the state comptroller announced budget estimates before the legislative session began.
"The comptroller’s estimate shocked us all," she said. "There will be 9 billion fewer dollars this budget than last budget. It’s caused a lot of serious discussion."
Exactly! We talked about this exact issue on this blog. That $9 billion disappearance is nothing to sneeze at. The state and other government agencies do not setup with their budgets with wiggle room. They spend EVERY dime of their budgets; therefore that $9 billion disappearance will mean that some of the public services we depend on will disappear. What many people are failing to mention overtly is that the loss in tax revenue is being caused in part by the foreclosure crisis. Expect to hear more trouble in Texas’ infrastructure and public services because of foreclosure and the credit crisis.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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