Wow!! Thank you friends and family for all the Happy Birthday wishes via Facebook, Twitter, email phone calls and cards! It has been a wonderful day, indeed!
I Do Have a Birthday Request...
For those of you following the budget crisis in Texas and the pending effects on the Texas Education System, I dusted off my old summertime blog to list some suggestions to make your voice heard, as well as some sites for more information. Many of these links have been forwarded to me by friends and family of varied political backgrounds. Plain and simple. This should not be about politics. This should be about what's best for children.
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Stand up for Texas schools at the TX Capitol on March 12:
Save Texas Schools will hold a rally and march at the State Capitol on March 12, 2011. They are expecting thousands of parents, teachers, students, community members, business owners, and faith organizations to attend.
DATE: Saturday, March 12, 2011
TIME/PLACE: March: 11:00 a.m. starting from 12th & Trinity (1 block east of the Capitol grounds)
Rally: Noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps, Congress Ave. & 11th St.
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Apples and Petitions
For those who have Spring Break vacation plans and can’t be in Austin to show support, Representative Mike Villarreal has put together a petition in support of public education you can sign on-line (while at a basketball game, if you have the right phone) and an Apple a Day Keeps the Education Budget Cuts at Bay effort (sending apples to the Governor with notes of support for education). You can get more information here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/Action/SignaPetition/tabid/81/Default.aspx_ and here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=N6G6Q66doag=&tabid=122.
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Business and Babs (as if she was ever called "Babs" - I need some sleep...)
The fight for education is not a partisan matter. The Texas Association of Business, one of the most conservative groups in the state, has come out against the proposed budget (http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/2011-budget-shortfall/business-leaders-sound-alarm-about-education-cuts/) and former First Lady Barbara Bush wrote a compelling editorial recently printed in the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7414727.html. Parents across the state, from every corner of the political spectrum are rightly outraged.
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Statistically Speaking
It’s a matter of priority. As a state, we have to decide: are we or are we not committed to the futures of our young people? And, in turn, are we committed to our state’s economic future? Today, before the proposed cuts, Texas ranks 45th of all states in per pupil funding, and 36th in high school graduation. We are near the bottom in SAT scores and literacy.
No school district in Texas can withstand the proposed cuts without severely impacting their services to our children. This is an important time for all of us to be educated on the issue and vocal.
--
Here are some sites for more information:
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/texas-education-agency/what-98-billion-in-tx-school-cuts-looks-like/
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/perry-dont-blame-state-for-teacher-layoffs-1310392.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Education-cutsbad-for-economy-968744.php
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10306:texas-budget-cuts-would-sink-education&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/politics/fine-arts-students-fear-funding-cuts
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Experts-warn-cuts-are-recipe-for-failure-1044268.php
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20110224-jennifer-nagorka-texas-history-of-habitually-underfunding-education.ece
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703362804576184642620311546.html
http://www.tasb.org/legislative/resources/documents/talking2010.pdf
And, for the really ambitious:
http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Public_Education/Finance_PublicEd_3dEd_1001.pdf
--
Look, Ma! No hands. (That comment is for my mother.)
I Do Have a Birthday Request...
For those of you following the budget crisis in Texas and the pending effects on the Texas Education System, I dusted off my old summertime blog to list some suggestions to make your voice heard, as well as some sites for more information. Many of these links have been forwarded to me by friends and family of varied political backgrounds. Plain and simple. This should not be about politics. This should be about what's best for children.
--
Stand up for Texas schools at the TX Capitol on March 12:
Save Texas Schools will hold a rally and march at the State Capitol on March 12, 2011. They are expecting thousands of parents, teachers, students, community members, business owners, and faith organizations to attend.
DATE: Saturday, March 12, 2011
TIME/PLACE: March: 11:00 a.m. starting from 12th & Trinity (1 block east of the Capitol grounds)
Rally: Noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps, Congress Ave. & 11th St.
--
Apples and Petitions
For those who have Spring Break vacation plans and can’t be in Austin to show support, Representative Mike Villarreal has put together a petition in support of public education you can sign on-line (while at a basketball game, if you have the right phone) and an Apple a Day Keeps the Education Budget Cuts at Bay effort (sending apples to the Governor with notes of support for education). You can get more information here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/Action/SignaPetition/tabid/81/Default.aspx_ and here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=N6G6Q66doag=&tabid=122.
--
Business and Babs (as if she was ever called "Babs" - I need some sleep...)
The fight for education is not a partisan matter. The Texas Association of Business, one of the most conservative groups in the state, has come out against the proposed budget (http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/2011-budget-shortfall/business-leaders-sound-alarm-about-education-cuts/) and former First Lady Barbara Bush wrote a compelling editorial recently printed in the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7414727.html. Parents across the state, from every corner of the political spectrum are rightly outraged.
--
Statistically Speaking
It’s a matter of priority. As a state, we have to decide: are we or are we not committed to the futures of our young people? And, in turn, are we committed to our state’s economic future? Today, before the proposed cuts, Texas ranks 45th of all states in per pupil funding, and 36th in high school graduation. We are near the bottom in SAT scores and literacy.
No school district in Texas can withstand the proposed cuts without severely impacting their services to our children. This is an important time for all of us to be educated on the issue and vocal.
--
Here are some sites for more information:
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/texas-education-agency/what-98-billion-in-tx-school-cuts-looks-like/
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/perry-dont-blame-state-for-teacher-layoffs-1310392.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Education-cutsbad-for-economy-968744.php
http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10306:texas-budget-cuts-would-sink-education&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/politics/fine-arts-students-fear-funding-cuts
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Experts-warn-cuts-are-recipe-for-failure-1044268.php
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20110224-jennifer-nagorka-texas-history-of-habitually-underfunding-education.ece
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703362804576184642620311546.html
http://www.tasb.org/legislative/resources/documents/talking2010.pdf
And, for the really ambitious:
http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Public_Education/Finance_PublicEd_3dEd_1001.pdf
--
Look, Ma! No hands. (That comment is for my mother.)
