State's school fund tops $25 billion
The state's Permanent School Fund, an endowment for public
schools, topped $25 billion this week. The fund, nicknamed
"the children's textbook fund," was created by
the Texas Legislature in 1854 with $2 million. It is the
second-largest education endowment in the country, behind
the Harvard University endowment. "The fund has consistently
been one of the top funds in the world and has provided
money for the public schoolchildren of Texas through both
good and bad markets," Geraldine "Tincy"
Miller, chairwoman of the State Board of Education, said
in a statement released by the Texas Education Agency. The
fund posted strong growth in 2006, earning a return of 14.98
percent. Proceeds and sales from the fund finance Texas
public schools. During the 2006-07 budget cycle, the fund
will distribute $1.7 billion to buy textbooks for 4.5 million
children. The remaining available money will be distributed
per capita. In 2006, that distribution was $213 per student.
