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So, the Houston Chronicle can acknowledge this:

Still, Spring Branch is speaking for many frustrated districts with this protest, districts that are seeing rising costs due to inflation on everything from food to fuel to insurance. On top of that they’re dealing with a severe teacher shortage, largely stemming from pay, the end of federal COVID era-funding and in some are seeing funding losses associated with falling enrollment. 

If flying a flag and uttering words of defiance draw some attention to the plight of public schools in this state, good. 

Texas ranks 42nd in per-pupil funding — several thousand dollars behind the national average — and doesn’t even get close to keeping up with inflation. Some state leaders gave the distinct impression that they planned do something about lagging education resources and teacher salaries, what with lawmakers swimming in a $33 billion budget surplus.

And can criticize this:

Some of Spring Branch’s demands in the past year — such as increasing the basic allotment by $1,000 — are debatable. The amount, if applied statewide, would be astronomical and some local Republican state senators had argued that it’s better to direct funding toward specific uses, such as teacher pay raises, rather than hike base funding.

And do it all without betraying even a base understanding of school finances in Texas. The Chronicle talks a good game:

Texas ranks 42nd in per-pupil funding — several thousand dollars behind the national average — and doesn’t even get close to keeping up with inflation. Some state leaders gave the distinct impression that they planned do something about lagging education resources and teacher salaries, what with lawmakers swimming in a $33 billion budget surplus.

But they don’t mention where that budget surplus comes from. It’s a direct result of what they open their argument with: “Robin Hood.”

Yes, Texas schools got screwed in the last session because funding got caught in the fight over Abbott’s pet project, school vouchers. Got caught, and no new funding for schools was approved. But $1000.00 per student is not a “debatable” sum, because 1/3rd of that record state surplus is local school taxes. Even the Comptroller of Public Accounts acknowledged that, back in January. He argued that money should go back to the schools. Nobody listened. Nobody’s listening still, not even people who think they are championing the schools. 

That’s the elephant in the room. That money should be returned to the schools without argument.

But it’s part of the way the state is paying for the reduction in the rate of property taxes, which fund the schools. Legislators are paying that bill by robbing schools. This simple reality, this basic fact that has been true of “Robin Hood” for 50 years now, goes entirely unmentioned in this editorial.

Normally, we’re on the side of Robin Hood — or at least the spirit of Texas’ Robin Hood school funding law that requires property-rich school districts to share their tax wealth with poorer districts. 

But even the real Robin Hood folk hero known for his vigilante wealth redistribution would be no match for today's Texas Legislature, where elected leaders seem intent on robbing students across the state of adequate public school funding.

But maybe they could figure out what’s actually the fuck going on. Cause it ain’t school finance, and it ain’t “Robin Hood.” It’s taking money from independent school districts and using it to fund state government so legislators can claim they “lowered taxes,” and additional funding of $1000.00 per student is “too expensive,” and public schools waste money anyway, so let’s just take that money away and give it to private schools while not spending any money on oversight of how state funds are being used by non-public schools.

When elephants fight, the African adage supposedly goes, the grass gets trampled. Public schools, and the children they educate, are the grass, at least for the next biennium. And no one is paying attention.

We did vouchers at literally the turn of the century, and it was such a disaster even the Lege had to shut it down in the session after it passed it. Which was two years later and a lot of money and lost educational opportunities under the bridge. But Greg Abbott wasn’t governor then so what the hell? And besides, history is bunk. 

And seeing what’s right in front of your nose takes more effort than most people can manage.