Is The Texas GOP Trying To Destroy Public Education ?

If you live in Texas then you know the Texas legislature (with the blessing of the governor) is in the process of delivering a crippling blow to public education in the state. The state government (controlled for years by Republicans) was already funding schools at one of the lowest per pupil rates in the nation, and now they have lopped another $4 to $5 billion dollars off of that paltry funding effort.

It is obvious to most of us in the state that the legislature just doesn't care about educating the state's children. But it may be even more nefarious than that. Some think this may be part of a Republican effort to do away with public education in any form (even an underfunded one). They may be right.

Here is what Peter Stern had to say over at The Buzzflash Blog:

Slightly more than 10 years ago, Texas provided up to 70 percent of the total budget for public education. Local government, mostly via home property taxes, provided the remaining 30 percent. Currently, those percentages are reversed and now the state is looking to provide even less to public schools in the Special Legislative Session under proposed Senate Bill 1 that seeks to cut public education financing down another 6 percent.

During the past decade legislators and various members of the elite business sector have given lip service to finding financing for Texas public education, but every year or two committees failed and fewer tax dollars were provided. The Texas Constitution outlines the state's responsibility to provide our children with a quality education; however, every year the Governor and Legislators have taken chunks of tax dollars slated for public education and have diverted them instead to various other special interests.

Few Texans should be surprised that their state wants to remove more financing from public education, since it has been doing so almost every year for the past decade. However, it is a sad commentary of a state that is almost last on the list of states providing quality public education. Currently, it is quite clear that there has been an active push by Texas legislators to develop private education and to eliminate its responsibility for public education. In fact, many legislators already sit on the boards of private, charter and religious schools. Special interests continue to push for a voucher program to enable parents to take their children out of public schools and use the vouchers for private enrollment.

Viewing the education issue completely, we may see that the state of Texas wishes to maintain educational objectives for the wealthy elite rather than for the majority of Texans. Furthermore, by crying budget poverty Texas sees the opportunity to remove most or all tax dollars that finance public education and to divert those tax dollars to other special interests.

It is sad enough that Texas Governor Rick Perry and legislators have no problem shirking their responsibility to the majority of children in Texas by cutting the financing for public education, but, it is callous, irresponsible and un-American to remove educational opportunities for the majority of our children and their parents under the veil of secrecy and cries of state fiscal poverty.

Our legislators are trying to eliminate public education behind closed legislative doors. SB 1 is the largest attempt of any previous bill to eliminate the financing of public education for our children and it is a symptom of special interest politics permeating throughout Texas.

If the majority of voters sit back and do nothing, Texas may succeed as the first state in the US to eliminate public education.

Peter Stern is a former Director of Information Services in private industry and government, a University Professor, Public School Administrator and Teacher.  He is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and holds three post-graduate degrees.