Aid Cuts Have Texas Schools Scrambling

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/education/15texas.html?_r=1

snip-

All across Texas, school superintendents are bracing for the largest cuts to public education since World War II, and the state is not alone. Schools across the country are in trouble as billions in emergency stimulus grants from the federal government have run out, and state and federal lawmakers have interpreted the victory of fiscal hawks in November’s midterm elections to mean that tax increases are out of the question.

Nowhere has that political trend been more potent than in Texas, where Republicans who ran on a promise to never raise taxes not only retained every statewide office, but also added to their majorities in both houses of the Legislature.

Gov. Rick Perry, easily re-elected in November, made it clear in his annual speech to lawmakers last week that he regarded raising revenue for schools as out of the question, saying Texas families “sent a pretty clear message with their November votes.” He has also refused to consider using $9.4 billion in a reserve fund to bail out the schools.

“They want government to be even leaner and more efficient,” Mr. Perry said, “and they want us to balance the budget without raising taxes on families and employers.”

To balance the budget with cuts alone, the governor and Republican leaders in the Legislature have put forth bills that would reduce the state’s public school budget by at least 13 percent — nearly $3.5 billion a year — and would provide no new money to schools for about 85,000 new students that arrive in Texas every year. School administrators predict that as many as 100,000 school employees would have to be laid off to absorb the cuts.

Not only are the proposed cuts to school aid draconian, but in addition the Legislature in 2006 put strict limits on how much districts can raise local property taxes. That means local school boards find themselves trapped amid rising enrollment, double-digit drops in state aid and frozen local taxes.



I feel for my partner. He was in the big middle of selective funding before this.
They'll have him teaching the poor kids out of a cardboard box.
and he'll do it.

[rainbow4321]

1. Dallas school district already notified 300 teachers

that they will be let go at the end of this semester and that they foresee letting a total of 3100 go.
I am so glad my kids are not in school anymore.

I forget which district the news report was about, but they are proposing to have 35 students per class.

And don't you just love when you hear radio commercials about how by playing the state lottery you are really putting money toward Texas education? HAH!

One local news show did an interview with college students who are supposed to graduate with their teaching degree in a year. Poor kids. And given that this attack of teachers seems to be nationwide, where can they go to get away from it?

Cedar Hill district is "offering $1,000 to the first 50 teachers and other contract staff who tender their resignation" in hopes of having to lay off less workers..Irving school district had a similar offer in the news last week. Crazy.

on edit: changed the potential number of DISD teacher layoffs to 3100 cuz I just saw another online article that used that number as a "potential number of layoffs"

[w8liftinglady]

2. That's what my partner said.. he thinks it will be even more...of course in poor neighborhoods

[rainbow4321]

4. Yep...pretty sure Highland Park will be just fine

Sad thing is, it's not like those being laid off from one district will be able to look into applying to another district in the area since a)all the districts are laying off and b) the very few that won't be--like HP--won't be hiring. So where do they turn to??

My kids grew up in the Plano district so stuff about that district usually catches my eye..they are looking at a $60 million cutback and you know they ain't gonna start at the top when it comes to layoffs or salary reductions. Parents in the Mcmansion part of the city are pretty much saying "WTF, this wasn't supposed to effect OUR kids/school"..in other words, their little rich neighborhood bubble is being threatened right along with the rest of the working class/lower income neighborhoods around here...or at least in their minds it is.

http://www.planostar.com/articles/2011/02/16/plano_star-courier/news/290.txt


The $60 million cut is equivalent to the total cost of running one senior high school, two high schools, three middle schools and nine elementary schools. In relation to district personnel, their top three personnel budgets include counselors, custodial services and librarians, together equaling $30.3 million – or half of the looming budget cut.

The final total of $60 million, which drew audible breaths from the audience at the meeting, is equivalent to 1,146 teachers within the district. This represents more than a quarter of the teachers within the district.

[w8liftinglady]

7. No..and teachers with seniority will go first

several of the teachers he teaches with are over 50.,,,
he is concerned that teachers who are on the top of the payscale will see the worst of it...not all members of Texas education belong to AFT.

[Bolo Boffin]

3. My mom is in Austin trying to talk sense into these people.

She's a middle school science teacher in the DFW area and she's out there as a rep.

[rainbow4321]

5. I hope she has some luck in doing that

Because here is one of the potential bills that my state rep is trying to ram through..and it is being called a "shell bill", meaning they could more crappy stuff as it proceeds thru committees:


http://www.planostar.com/articles/2011/02/18/plano_star-courier/news/289.txt

The bill has been submitted as a “shell bill,” meaning its contents will be developed, amended and expanded as it travels through the legislative process. The bill’s first draft, available for view on the Texas Legislature website, calls for the removal of mandates that prohibit districts from reducing pay rates for teachers and other campus-level staff members below 2010-2011 levels or exceeding a student-teacher ratio of 10 to 1 in remedial classrooms.

(snip)


The draft also proposes moving the required 45-day notification period for teachers whose contracts will not be renewed to 10 days after the last day of instruction and would allow districts to not republish tax notices if the rollback rate falls after the first posting. It would also prohibit limitations on the number of courses a student can take through the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Virtual School Network, which allows high school students to supplement in-class instruction with Web-based courses.

The bill was developed with the help of 60 Texas school district superintendents, who were invited by Shapiro to an all-day roundtable discussion two weeks before the bill’s submittal.

[w8liftinglady]

6. I'm proud and grateful for people like your mom....

I wish these politicos in Texas were a little more like her.

[WinkyDink]

8. What is good about Texas (my brother-in-law excepted)?

[w8liftinglady]

9. LOL...ME!.. and chicken-fried steak

Texas COULD be good. When Ann Richards was governor,we WERE good.We have proceeded to crumble(from an intellectual/sensible standpoint) since Bush was governor.

[hamsterjill]

10. There are still some of us down here!

There are still a few "good" ones left down here! We're trying...against overwhelming odds.

Don't forget about us, please!!!

[n2doc]

11. BBQ, and Austin, and wildflowers

It just amazes me how a state can go from Ann Richards and democratic control to utter asshattery in 20 years. Of course this has been repeated elsewhere in other states. What happened to people? Is it all due to RW hate radio?