How beer can help struggling schools

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Call it beer for books.

The liberal think tank – the Center for Public Policy Priorities – is urging the Legislature to consider upping the beer tax – something that hasn’t happened in nearly 30 years, according to the group’s senior fiscal analyst Dick Lavine.

The proposal would not change the sales tax on bottled or canned beer. It would only apply to sales of draft beer – currently a $6 tax on a 31-gallon barrel. Lavine said the tax increase should keep up with the price of beer, which he added has nearly doubled since 1984.

It's just one example of ways more revenue could be raised if lawmakers modernize the tax code, Lavine said.

The CPPP has not suggested how much the beer tax increase should be or how much money it could rake in. Lavine said the dollars generated could aid schools.

The idea falls flat with some Republican lawmakers who deal with school finance issues. Democrats have generally supported restoring the $5.4 billion in cuts to public education made last session to help decrease a massive revenue shortfall.

The tax increase would be similar to when the lawmakers raised the chewing tobacco tax in 2009, which pays up to $160,000 of student debt for medical school graduates who agree to work at least four years in inner city or rural hospitals. However, that repayment of $160,000 applies only to those doctors who got the loan repayment deal arranged before 2011 session.

"Beers for Books" in Austin

The idea of connecting alcoholic beverages and raising money for books to help with education is not a new one. The Austin chapter of "Room To Read" hosts such fundraising events on a regular basis in Austin.

The idea is to raise money while having fun imbibing at Austin bars, with price specials and a portion of the money drinkers spend on the beers given to RTR .

Past "Beers For Books" (B4B) events have included trivia contests and bingo, with donated prizes given to the winners as part of the fundraising events.

The organization publishes books and helps build libraries in third-world countries. More than six million children have been touched by the nonprofit's efforts.

The national RTR organization started with a case of job burnout in 1998. As an overworked Microsoft executive, John Wood escaped to Nepal for a much-needed backpacking getaway. While hiking in the Himalayas, Wood met a Nepalese “Education Resource Officer” who invited him to visit a school in a neighboring village. That experience changed his life forever, and the organization was formed.

In its first-ever ranking of the “Top 100 Best NGOs in the World,” The Global Journal named Room to Read as 66th in the world.

B4B events are held by other Room To Read chapters in Japan and at least in 13 states in the U.S.

The next "Beers For Books" event is scheduled at Six Lounge on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Six Lounge is located at 319 Colorado St.