Texas House OKs lower pay, furloughs for teachers

Texas House OKs lower pay, furloughs for teachers
By GARY SCHARRER
Austin Bureau
June 16, 2011, 9:14PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7613999.html

AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers took another step on Thursday toward empowering school districts to furlough educators and to cut their pay in the name of saving money and jobs. They also retreated from their earlier willingness to use excess money from the state's rainy day fund to help pay the costs of student enrollment growth - projected to be about 170,000 children during the next two years.

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Voting 81-55, the House approved Senate Bill 8, the school reform package. All Democrats voted against the bill. They were joined by 11 Republicans. The bill allows school districts to give teachers and administrators up to six non-instructional days of unpaid leave. School districts also could reduce pay for their professional staffs - something current law does not allow.

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"I think the budget crisis has been an excuse to do things to schools that they always wanted to do," Farrar said. Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, initiated the move to eliminate the rainy day fund contingency amendment. King said he and others believe the state needs to keep a reserve fund of at least 5 percent of the budget. The state's rainy day fund, formally known as the Economic Stabilization Fund, was created in the 1980s as a savings account to finance public education during hard economic times.
'That's our money' Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, said she changed her mind about using excess rainy day funds for school enrollment costs because it seemed more fiscally conservative "to wait until we come back next session and see what kind of shape that we are in.

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"They are choosing not to use the state's savings account. That's our money," Deigaard said. "Why are you not spending that on my kids? Why are you not spending that on all of Texas' children?" Legislators who voted to cut public education are not entitled to campaign as school supporters, Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said after the vote. The cuts to basic education amount to about $400 per student. Lawmakers also cut $1.3 billion from discretionary grants for programs such as full-day pre-K kindergarten.

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God I feel for you Texans, having such a Neanderthal as a governor...

Any time you wanna crash at my pad, smoke a doob, burn a bible and watch Bill Hicks you're free to stop by

He's 'Republic of Gilead' all the way

This is why I am not dictator - he would have been taken care of in the first wave :evilgrin:

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/06/education-issues-move-to-the-f.html

Education issues move to the forefront of Texas concerns

Texans believe education - vaulting over the weighty subjects of the economy, jobs and immigration - is the most important issue facing the state today, according to a new public policy poll released Tuesday.

The poll indicates that Texans are taking note of the deep cuts of $4 billion to public education and $1 billion to universities that the Legislature is poised to enact for the upcoming two-year budget.

The poll by the public interest, non-partisan Texas Lyceum, seeks to monitor the priorities of most Texans. Among the other economic questions posed, 58 percent of adults said they believe the country is moving in the wrong direction, just slightly higher than last year.

Regarding gas prices, those polled said the spike at the pump has caused 60 percent to cut back on driving while 40 percent said they have given up other necessities to keep fuel in their cars.

Asked an open-ended question of naming the issue at the forefront of their minds, 23 percent of adult Texans cited education, 16 percent cited jobs or the economy and 13 percent said immigration.
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I mean, how could you possibly penalize the owners of $250,000 yachts for the sake of a few teachers

the Texas House?

:think:
rocktivity

Tax increases aren't much on the table. Even if we like increasing taxes at the beginning of a recovery.

That leaves cutting Medicare, lots of trivial programs that won't make up the shortfall, or education.

One school district's announced class sizes of 35 for most grades, up to 40 is permitted; no activity buses for after or before-school activities. Summer school is fee-based, not free. Science labs have just about a 0 budget. The administration has a 10% across the board reduction in staffing. And every school has had to lay off from 20 to 40 teachers, depending on size and grade level. They've talked about suspending bus service for students within 2 miles of school--which will be a hoot, watching all the kindergarten and first graders walk up to two miles, including crossing some major roads. Even better late in the year, when the temperature's up in the 90s when they trekking home.

It's been tough. Texas gets a lot of its revenue from property taxes. A lot of districts have seen their tax base cut by 30%. They can't increase property taxes any more. The state's cut funding. Even with Robin Hood bills to mandate some resource sharing a lot of the poorer districts that don't want Title I money for whatever reason are really, really hurting. All that's left is seriously gutting education or finding someway to share the pain.

One school had to cut their teacher of the year, a great instructor, because she was still on her probationary contract. Teachers that had 10 years' seniority, fairly incompetent but not grossly incompetent, and who were burned out but couldn't find a job were kept. One administrator, after 8 years of pushing paper, is going back into the classroom full time because she has seniority.

A lot of teachers that were RIFfed are having trouble finding a job. It's cheaper to hire a new ACP person than somebody with seniority--because they're cheaper. Some teachers have joked about "forgetting" about their first teaching gig or their MA degree when they apply to reduce their starting salary where they're applying.

While I'd like them to use the rainy day fund, I'm also sympathetic: I could see things getting far, far worse in the next couple of years and needing that fund to maintain a basic level of service.

The only thing I've heard good is the suggestion that to save money the eoc/taks tests might be suspended for the next couple of years. W00t.