“We’ve kind of heard that there’s not a (money) surplus,” said Dr. Robin Battershell, Temple ISD superintendent. “So we don’t expect any additional funding out of this session. If there’s a change in funding it will probably be in the transportation side.”

Since the mid-1980s, transportation costs have been funded on a per-student basis by the state, without any increases in funding for inflation factors, she said.

“I do hear that transportation funding could be an issue coming up, but that’s about it on the funding side,” she said. “Fuel prices are lower now, but they can always go up, and we kind of expect them to go up. It would be a nice consideration if they discussed increased funding.”

On the policy side, there could be discussion about aligning the TAKS test state standards with federal Adequate Yearly Progress results, she said.

Both the Temple and Belton ISDs failed to meet 2008 Adequate Yearly Progress standards set by the federal accountability system under the No Child Left Behind Act. Representatives from both districts said new rules forcing special education students and/or limited English students to take tests specific to their grade level have affected their AYP status.

According to the Texas Education Association, schools in Texas are rated based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills performance in reading and math for grades third through eighth and 10th, and graduation and attendance rates.

The federal accountability is similar to the TEA’s own rating system, which places students into subgroups depending on their ethnicity and economic status, except for the inclusion of the special education and limited English students. The TEA rated the Belton and Temple school districts as “academically acceptable” earlier this year.

“A lot of us didn’t make AYP this year,” said Dr. Battershell about local school districts.

“The aligning of that criteria will not be just a state issue, it will be a federal issue. With the change in the guard at the federal level, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.

“In Austin, there have been a lot of changes in the representatives and the senators. Based upon my experience, it takes time even with an established legislature to make committee assignments and get to work. I would expect a big chunk of this session to be devoted into determining roles,” Dr. Battershell said. “At the state level, the one issue that I would say needs discussion more than anything else is the state funding formula. There are a lot of districts that are passing rollback elections.”

Because of Texas law, per-pupil revenue from the state - which is a large portion of district budgets - has been frozen at 2006 levels, with no factor for inflation. Because of this, many Texas districts have scheduled rollback elections for increased local revenue, reaching the state maximum $1.17 per $100 property valuation.

Dr. Battershell said she has not had any discussions with local officials since before the November election.

Dr. Vivian Baker, Belton ISD superintendent, also said she hasn’t been in contact with local representatives.

She echoed Dr. Battershell’s thoughts.

“Our key issue is probably equitable funding. I also hope transportation costs are addressed,” Dr. Baker said. “Right now, there is no state funding available to build additional schools if you’re a growing district. For districts that want to advance, there needs to be some sort of funding.”

She said she hopes the Legislature increases funding for full-day pre-kindergarten programs, which she said would allow districts to meet the demands of children earlier in their education.

Dr. Baker also said she is against vouchers, saying she hopes it’s an issue that doesn’t come up during the session.

“Vouchers are something we as a public school district would not support,” she said.

Both superintendents said they keep up to date on legislative news through newsletters, reports and e-mails through organizations like the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators.

For information about TASA legislative issues, you can visit http://tasanet.org. For TASB issues, you can visit http://www.tasb.org/issues/legislative/index.aspx.