Texas already has one of the least successful public education systems in the nation. It ranks 47th in SAT scores and 43rd in high school completion.
Now the Texas Legislature is considering cutting $10.4 billion from state education funding to help cover a $31 billion budget shortfall. That likely would result in thousands of teacher layoffs. Besides that, Gov. Rick Perry refuses to accept $830 million in federal education funding because of a political dispute.
Neighborhood parents, including Stonewall Jackson Elementary and Woodrow Wilson High School PTAs, are urging parents to contact lawmakers and demand that education be fully funded, even if the state must use its $9.3 billion “rainy day fund”. After all, if we fail to educate kids now, won’t we be building prisons for them in 20 years?
The governor’s office can be reached by email. The governor’s citizens opinion hotline number is 800.252.9600. And the snail-mail address is Office of the Governor, State Insurance Building, 1100 San Jacinto, Austin, TX 78701.
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