Texas House approves school finance measure - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports

Texas House approves school finance measure

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The House has voted to slash Texas public school funding by $4 billion.

Voting largely along party lines, lawmakers approved the cuts Sunday on a 84-63 vote in the Republican-controlled House. The Senate was still debating the bill late Sunday night.

The measure will cut funds to all school districts by about 6% in the first year and rewrites school funding formulas from 2013 to 2017.

Republicans said the cuts were necessary to balance the budget, though Democrats wanted to use money from the state's Rainy Day Fund.

Only 15 Republicans voted against the plan, most of them from rural areas.

Earlier Sunday, Gov. Rick Perry had warned lawmakers that if they didn't finish the key piece of legislation, he would immediately call them back into special session.