Texas: Stop shortchanging schools with attendance-based funding

OP / ED

Imagine a restaurant preparing a dinner for 100 registered guests. The chefs, the waitstaff and the food ingredients are accounted for, but at the end of the night, the guests only pay for the food that was eaten. Imagine that in this scenario, ten guests cancel at the last minute or only pick at the food on their plates, and the restaurant still bears the full cost of serving them but now struggles to pay its bills.

Texas funds public schools similarly, providing money for only the students who show up each day rather than the total number enrolled. The result? Schools across the state are left underfunded and struggling to provide the education our students deserve.