Focus Report: Volume 74, Number 14, August 1995 Page: 3
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Page 3 House Research Organization
The ESCs' local governing boards will continue to
have seven members, and the commissioner will
* recommend to the SBOE a policy for the local selection,
appointment and membership of the board. The
commissioner will allocate funds to each ESC for the
provision of its core services.
Local boards and districts
(Chapter 11)
Membership and selection
Local boards of school trustees with three or five
members may vote to increase their membership to
seven. Boards may vote to elect trustees at large, from
single-member districts or using a combination of the
two methods. Districts electing trustees at-large may
use cumulative voting. The terms of all school district
boards of trustees must be either three or four years.
School board members must wait at least a year after
their terms end to accept employment with their school
district./
Powers and duties
Powers and duties not specifically delegated to the
TEA or the SBOE are reserved to local school boards.
The school board is charged with the governing and
managing of the district's public schools. The board may
levy and collect taxes, issue bonds and charge fees for
items specifically identified in the new code, including
fees for student uniforms, which boards are allowed to
require.
Training
The SBOE is to provide training for local school
board trustees through Regional Education Service
Centers. Registration must be open to any interested
person, including current and prospective board members,
and the state board may prescribe a registration fee. No
minimum number of hours is set, but a trustee must
complete any training required by the SBOE.Texas public education at a glance
4 The state's public school system
serves 3.6 million elementary and secondary
students. For fiscal 1996-97 the state has
appropriated nearly $21.4 billion for public
education, an increase of 14 percent over
the previous biennium. The state share of
public education funding totaled about 44.2
percent in 1995-96. Local revenue
provided about 47.5 percent of public school
funding, and federal funds about 8.3
percent.
4 The Texas Education Agency (TEA),
under the management of the commissioner
of education, accredits school districts,
operates research and development
programs, provides technical and curriculum
assistance, monitors federal and state
guideline compliance and distributes state
and federal funds to school districts. In
1994-95 TEA employed approximately 1,100
staff members. The general appropriations
act requires a 23 percent cut, to 900 or
fewer staff members, by September 1996.4 Twenty regional education service
centers established by TEA provide services
and technical support to schools within their
regions. These service centers are funded by
the state and by fees paid by the school
districts they serve.
4 The state has 1,044 school districts,
serving students in grades pre-kindergarten
through 12. Almost 60 percent of the school
districts have three or fewer campuses -
typically one elementary school, one middle
school and one high school. Texas has more
than 6,300 public school campuses, and about
60 percent of them are elementary schools.
4 School districts - except for state-
administered districts such as those
administered by the Texas Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retardation - are governed
by locally elected boards of trustees. A board
selects a district superintendent to manage the
district's day-to-day operations and implement
the school board's policies.II
IL
Page 3
House Research Organization
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Research Organization. Focus Report: Volume 74, Number 14, August 1995, periodical, August 3, 1995; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth640372/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.