11:36 AM CST on Saturday, November 26, 2005

We may have overspoken ourselves when we said in this space only yesterday that Gov. Rick Perry should call a special session as soon as possible, maybe even in January, to give the Texas Legislature one more chance at coming up with an equitable and adequate school funding plan.

It would not have been the first time. We can think of several instances, and would bet that observant readers could come up with several hundred more.

We would still, in our heart of hearts, love to see the Honorables dragged back into session before the March primaries so that they, and the governor, could be judged by the voters on their success or failure at solving the school funding problem, but after looking back through our dog-eared files on the subject, we find that Gov. Perry’s blue-ribbon committee on school financing is not likely to have reported back to him by then, so we guess we have to give the lawmakers a little more time.

We would normally not have a lot of confidence in any committee appointed by Gov. Perry, but he had the good sense to name former state Comptroller John Sharp as its chairman. Sharp is a Democrat, which gives a needed nonpartisan touch to the committee, but even more important, he has a reputation as a level-headed pragmatist who sought compromise and avoided partisan demagoguery. If anyone can convince a committee of Texas businessmen to do the right thing by Texas schoolchildren, it’s Sharp.

But we have never put all our chips on Sharp and his committee; it is the governor and the members of the Legislature who will eventually succeed in this venture or bear the blame of failing.

As of now, the signs are not encouraging. Gov. Perry made a start in appointing Sharp to head his task force, but his support of its efforts have been pretty wishy-washy, as his actions often are when there is the slightest chance that a rich campaign contributor might be offended.

The governor is once again weaseling about when it comes to reforming the state’s scandalous franchise tax law, which is so filled with loopholes that only about 16 percent of the state’s businesses pay it. Franchise tax reform would be the most equitable way to replace the revenue lost by reforming the state property tax law, but Perry’s support for that idea has been lukewarm at best.

The Legislature can ignore Perry’s leadership, or lack of it, if it desires, but it ignores the problem of school finance at its own peril. The Texas Supreme Court has given the lawmakers until June 1 to come up with a constitutional way to collect property taxes and finance public education, and there will be nobody for the legislators to scapegoat if they haven’t succeeded by that date.

House Speaker Tom Craddick is again making obstructionist noises, balking at a joint legislative study of the problem with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate.

It is that Sharks-vs.-Jets attitude that has allowed this crisis to worsen for five legislative sessions, and the public is getting fed up.

Everybody had best get on this right away. If January is too soon, well, OK; if everyone lacks the courage to make a decision before the March primaries, that’s understandable — disgusting, but understandable.

But, please, governor; please legislators; please remember this: If fear of alienating big business interests paralyzes you into inaction one more time, hundreds of thousands of Texas schoolchildren will suffer. If petty turf battles between legislative houses results in flouting a court order, schools may not open on time next fall.

And that, ladies and gentlemen of the Legislature and the governor’s office, will be all your fault, and everyone in the state will know it.