Texas schools suffer from Legislature's knife. . .

What follows are exerpts from Manny Fernandez's article, "At Texas Schools, Making Do on a Shoestring," published in The New York Times on April 8, 2012:

From the previous school year to the current one, districts across Texas eliminated 25,286 positions through retirements, resignations and layoffs, including 10,717 teaching jobs, according to state data analyzed by Children at Risk, a nonprofit advocacy group in Houston. Texas public schools spend $8,908 per student, a decrease of $538 from the previous year and below the national average of $11,463, according to the National Education Association. California spent $9,710 and New York $15,592.

“I’ve been in education 42 years, and I’ve been a superintendent about 25 of those 42 years, and this is the worst that I’ve ever had to cut,” said John Folks, the superintendent of one of the districts suing the state, Northside in San Antonio, where officials eliminated 973 positions and made classes larger in a $61.4 million budget reduction. “We cut about 40 special education teachers. We cut about 28 athletic coaches. We froze salaries. School districts can’t take much more than this.”

You'll find the entire, very disturbing article here.  After you read it, let me hear from you.  I believe we must do better by our children.

Just Ahead: 17th Annual Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast

Each year the CitySquare Urban Ministries Prayer Breakfast turns out to be one of the highlight public events shared in Dallas. This year may be our most important one to date, especially in terms of content, message and challenge.

Public education in our city must improve. With a national search underway to identify the next leader of the Dallas Independent School District and with challenge upon challenge facing our students, the public forum we've organized will be extremely relevant and important.

If you care about Dallas and the children of the city, you won't want to miss this special event.

Public education's obvious, dark secret

"Root cause of achievement gap is poverty. Test scores on SAT, ACT, state tests, NAEP, show a tight correlation. No surprise."

Diane Ravitch

Alamo-like plea for Texas public schools

Here's a report on a most creative plea by a Texas school superintendent to the Texas Legislature.  The report appeared in The Washington Post.  Thing aren't looking so good for Texas school children who attend our public schools.  Hmmm.  Now, there's a question:  Wonder how many of our legislators send or sent their children to public schools? 


Texas district schools chief issues plea in Alamo-like letter

By Valerie Strauss

This is an open letter issued by John Kuhn, superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District. Addressed to Texas legislators, this plea for help is modeled on the famous letter that William Barret Travis sent from the Alamo right before it fell in 1836 (the text of which follows Kuhn's). Kuhn refers to plans by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to cut billions of dollars from public school funding.

From: John Kuhn, Superintendent, Perrin-Whitt CISD

To: Senator Estes, Representative Hardcastle, Representative Keffer, and Representative King during these grave times:

Gentlemen,

I am besieged, by a hundred or more of the Legislators under Rick Perry. I have sustained a continual Bombardment of increased high-stakes testing and accountability-related bureaucracy and a cannonade of gross underfunding for 10 years at least and have lost several good men and women. The ruling party has demanded another round of pay cuts and furloughs, while the school house be put to the sword and our children's lunch money be taken in order to keep taxes low for big business. I am answering the demand with a (figurative) cannon shot, and the Texas flag still waves proudly from our flag pole. I shall never surrender the fight for the children of Perrin.

Then, I call on you my legislators in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy of public schools is declaring that spending on a shiny new high-stakes testing system is "non-negotiable"; that, in essence, we must save the test but not the teachers. The enemy of public schools is saying that Texas lawmakers won't raise 1 penny in taxes in order to save our schools.

If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and fight for the kids in these classrooms like an educator who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his community. Make education a priority!

With all due respect and urgency,
John Kuhn
Superintendent
Perrin-Whitt CISD

Here's the text of the 1836 letter:

Commandancy of the Alamo------
Bejar Fby. 24th 1836

To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world------

Fellow citizens & compatriots

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -----I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man ----- The enemy has demanded a Surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken ----- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the wall ----- I shall never Surrender or retreat

Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch ----- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country ----- Victory or Death

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt

P. S. The lord is on our side- When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn--- We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves---

Travis

Reported  February 11, 2011; 11:13 AM ET

Center for Public Policy Priorities calls for balanced approach to state budget crisis

What follows is a "call to action" from Scott McCown, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin.  McCown's statement is a call to action issued to the superintendents of the public schools in Texas.  The state legislature faces a budget shortfall of approximately $27 billion as it meets in Austin. 

Consider McCown's plea and give me your responses.

A Call to Action to the Superintendents of Texas

Assembled for the Mid-Winter Conference, January 28, 2011

We have no reason for pessimism but pessimism itself.

Texas can meet the challenge of our state’s revenue crisis, which has left us at least $27 billion, or 27 percent, short of being able to provide services at their current level, but doing so requires a balanced approach that includes using all of our Rainy Day Fund and adding new revenue. In a democracy—where the most important election is always the next election—if citizens demand a balanced approach, the Legislature will take a balanced approach. All that stands between us and a pragmatic response to this crisis is the sort of pessimism that leads to doing nothing.

Texas has the second youngest population of any state, which is great for our future, but means that today we have lots of children we must educate to remain competitive in the global economy. Yet the proposed state budget funds local school districts over $9 billion less than what is required under school finance formulas.

Among other things, the state doesn’t fully fund projected annual enrollment growth of 92,000 students. The House completely and the Senate largely eliminates funding for teacher incentive pay, high school completion programs, technology allotment, and pre-kindergarten grants. Lynn Moak, one of the state’s leading school finance experts, has estimated that school districts may be forced to lay off as many as 100,000 employees, including teachers. This cuts-only approach is unacceptable. Your leadership with your school board, with your community, and ultimately with your elected representatives is essential to protecting our state’s future.

We must take a balanced approach that includes using all of our Rainy Day Fund. The state’s reserve (officially the Economic Stabilization Fund) will have $9.4 billion we can use to balance the budget. The constitutional purpose of the fund is to maintain vital state services during economic downturns. As our economy recovers, state revenue will recover; in the meantime, the fund can help cover state costs. The risk of not having the revenue in 2014-15 to replace Rainy Day Fund dollars spent now is slight. But if we don’t, we can always cut then; we have no reason to cut so deeply now. The fund itself will automatically replenish from dedicated oil and gas severance taxes. And, it is important to remember that the true reserve of Texas isn’t the Rainy Day Fund, but the backing of the people of Texas whose total annual personal income is almost $1,000 billion a year.

Unfortunately, our revenue shortfall is so large that a balanced approach also requires adding new revenue. No one is proposing a “tax-only” solution to our problem, but taxes should be part of the solution. We have options acceptable to the public. For example, we can adopt a Healthy Texas Revenue Package that 1) increases taxes on alcohol, 2) increases taxes on tobacco (raising the cigarette tax a dollar a pack generates $1.9 billion a biennium), and 3) imposes a new one-cent-per-ounce excess tax on sugar-loaded beverages (generating $2.5 billion a biennium). Or, we could eliminate unwarranted sales tax exemptions. Alternatively, we could temporarily increase our state sales tax by half a percent (with a rebate to protect low-income families) and raise about $3 billion a biennium. Money wisely spent from careful taxation strengthens, not weakens, an economy.

Relaxing certain state mandates for school districts might be part of a balanced approach, but I urge you not to settle for trading dollars in exchange for relaxing mandates. While some mandates may be vexing to you, most are part of maintaining a strong educational system, such as the 22-to-1 student-teacher ratio.

Everyone must work hard over the next several months. If the battle for a balanced approach is lost now, cuts in spending will largely be permanent. Your leadership is crucial to making the case for a balanced approach. I urge you to set aside any pessimism and step up for Texas.

F. Scott McCown, Executive Director
900 Lydia Street • Austin, Texas 78702 • T 512/320-0222 • F 512/320-0227 • www.cppp.org