Section 2: Politics and the Organizational and Institutional Context Is Robin Hood the “Prince of Thieves” 1 or a Pathway to Equity? Applying Critical Race Theory to School Finance Political Discourse Enrique Alemán Jr. University of Utah In this article, Alemán examines how Mexican American district leaders conceptualize and argue for a more equitable system of school finance. The superintendents studied are politically active educational leaders who partici- pate in the school finance debate while advocating for their Mexican American constituency. The author addresses the nature of the superintendents’ policy and political discourse and their conceptualizations of race and racism in their political strategy. In these analyses, the author uses a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework and argues for a more critical debate of the inher- ent institutional racism at the foundation of Texas school finance policy. Keywords: educational politics and policy; Critical Race Theory; school finance E xamples of blatant racism and gross inequity are ubiquitous throughout the history of school funding in Texas (Cardenas, 1997; Kozol, 1991; Valencia, 2002). The current system of public school finance, although much improved, continues to exemplify the structural remnants of its overtly Educational Policy Volume 20 Number 1 January and March 2006 113-142 © 2006 Corwin Press 10.1177/0895904805285290 http://epx.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com 113 Author’s Note: The author wishes to thank Jay D. Scribner for his invaluable counsel and friendship during the completion of this study. In addition, the author extends a special thanks to Sonya M. Alemán for her editing, comments, and unwavering support throughout the con- ducting of study and the writing of this manuscript. Please address correspondence to Enrique Alemán Jr., University of Utah, 1705 E. Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112; e-mail: enrique.aleman@ed.utah.edu. EP-285290.qxd 12/30/2005 2:34 PM Page 113