What's about to happen in Austin next year will look awfully familiar to many Texans. Legislators again must figure out how to adequately fund the state's public schools.

Yes, that tired, old saw of school finance rears its head. Texas' struggle to fund its schools is like the cousin who keeps showing up for the family reunions with the same old tales told every two years or so. Except legislators can't avoid this by saying, "Oops, gotta run, pal."

Here's why.

The new business tax created in the 2006 special session is coming up short. Early estimates suggest its revenues could be $1.5 billion behind projections when the 2009 Legislature begins work.

A record number of school districts, including Dallas, now must share some of their local revenues with poorer districts. In DISD's case, rising home valuations are turning the district into a property wealthy one, even though most of its students qualify for subsidized lunches.

As they prepare for the coming session, legislators have to be willing to raise the rate on the business tax, if that's what has to happen to generate enough revenues for schools. We're not leading with that as the answer; it's possible they can find the money elsewhere, including from the likely surplus other state taxes will generate.

But if those revenues don't emerge, tinkering with the business tax rate must stay on the table.

What doesn't belong there is the lobbyist-driven game of getting certain businesses exempted from paying their fair share under the tax, which already has some generous exemptions.

The bottom line is that the Legislature must find the funds to help districts, including ones like DISD that are losing money because, for some reason, they qualify as wealthy.

At some level, we can't blame lawmakers for not wanting to wrestle with this demon again. But as Republican Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano keeps saying, you can't simply stop addressing school finance.

The system constantly needs refining, just like that cousin who constantly needs your attention.