What "Unconstitutional" Means (by state senator Kirk Watson)
I wrote some last week about a judge’s ruling that the way Texas finances schools and education is unconstitutional.
But that word, “unconstitutional,” doesn’t really do it justice. The ruling was a sweeping condemnation of the way Texas has failed to invest in our schools and our future, even in violation of our history, our identity and, yes, our constitution.
“The Court declares that the current school finance system violates ... the Texas Constitution," state District Judge John Dietz declared. He called the system "inefficient, inequitable and unsuitable," and he found that it "arbitrarily funds districts at different levels below the constitutionally required level.”
He later called the school finance system “inadequate,” saying it doesn’t give schools the resources they need to achieve that constitutional standard of “a general diffusion of knowledge.”
More including video at http://www.burntorangereport.com/ .
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A side benefit about posting here in the Texas group is finding out how some of these stories connect to other Texans.
After a slow Monday there are a lot of interesting things to post about today. Hopefully it keeps everyone interested and coming back to DU so that we can organize and keep each other informed for the next election cycle.
I've followed Kirk for awhile and it appears that he is well-respected. He even beat "Top Ten Things to See in Austin" Leslie Cochran for mayor!
.....then as one of his constituents while Senator in that district. He is smart, efficient, progressively goal oriented, but pragmatic, works well with everyone as a mediator, and witty, to boot. Wish he would run for higher office some day, maybe Governor or US Senate.
