TRS Benefits Could See Major Cuts

Texas Teacher Retirement System Benefits Could See Major Cuts

Send Your Legislators a Message—We Need a Fair Deal on TRS Benefits, Not Another Raw Deal: A bill to cut already-earned TRS benefits for hundreds of thousands of school employees could come up for a Senate vote any day now.   Please take the opportunity NOW to write again to your senator and representative to oppose the committee substitutes for SB 1458 and HB 1884 and to urge the legislature to:

--reject the take-away of already-earned pension benefits from current employees;
--increase the state’s contribution rate to TRS, as recommended by TRS actuaries, to 6.9 percent in fiscal 2014 and 7.4 percent in fiscal 2015;
--require any increase in the employee contribution rate to be gradual and to be matched by increases in the state contribution rate; and
--provide an immediate benefit enhancement such as a 13th check for all retirees, not just for a small minority as proposed in SB 1458 and HB 1884.

House Democrats Urge Use of Rainy Day Fund to Restore Aid for Public Education

Texas Education Legislation 2013
House Democrats Send Message to Speaker Urging Use of Rainy Day Fund to Restore Aid for Public Education: 
Every one of the 55 Democrats in the Texas House has signed on to a letter to Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) declaring support for the use of the Rainy Day Fund to restore state funding for public education. The letter notes that legislation authorizing use of the reserve fund for water and transportation projects is expected to come up soon on the House floor. The Democrats unanimously assert:  “We are committed to supporting a comprehensive plan providing for the use of the Rainy Day Fund to support public education, water and transportation. To do less is unacceptable.”

With Fig-Leaf Amendments Attached, Voucher Bills Head to Senate Floor

With Fig-Leaf Amendments Attached, Voucher Bills Head to Senate Floor:  On April 11, 2013 a bare five-member majority of the Senate Education Committee approved two voucher bills with fig-leaf amendments attached that fail to camouflage what these bills would do—divert public funds to private schools unaccountable to taxpayers. SB 23 by Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) is a tax-credit voucher bill that would reward companies with a tax break for funneling money to private schools in the form of “scholarships.” The main “fig leaf” for SB 23 took the form of an amendment by Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) limiting voucher eligibility to students both at risk of dropping out and with family income up to double the maximum level for reduced-price school lunches (e.g., up to $87,136 for a family of four).

Texas Tax Breaks Cost Schools, Benefit Select Few

Some tax breaks have become par for the course

By Patricia Kilday Hart

March 17, 2013

Twenty years ago, the Sunday front page of the Houston Chronicle reported that in Harris County "a dozen posh country clubs are receiving a special tax break that allows the exclusive clubs to avoid paying almost $1.6 million in property taxes each year."
Chief among them was the River Oaks Country Club, whose well-tended golf course is the playground of Houston's elite. Nestled next to downtown, that property was taxed at a fraction of its market value.

Nothing has changed in the subsequent two decades, except the lost tax income - at a time when the Houston Independent School District is considering a tax hike - now exceeds $4.5 million annually.

Long Term Substitutes: Beware of False Promises

This is the story of a long term substitute in a Houston area school district, and it is not an isolated event.  The purpose of this post is to bring to light misinformation brought on by district administration that directly affects the teachers and students that work and learn there.*

Flood of Education Bills at Texas Legislature

Flood of Bills as Legislature Hits Bill Filing Deadline Several School Voucher Bills Among Them

The 60th day of the legislative session came and went on Friday with a tidal wave of last minute legislative proposals being filed. According to the Dallas Morning News, more than 2,300 bills were filed during the last week, with 763 filed on Friday.

Regrettably, a number of harmful school voucher bills were among them, including:

Tax Credit Voucher Bills

• SB 23/SB1410 by Senator Patrick (R-Houston)/Senator Paxton (R-McKinney)
• SB 1015 by Senator Paxton (R-McKinney)
• HB 3245 by Rep. Callegari (R-Houston)

While they vary slightly in their particulars and the labels attached to them, these tax credit voucher bills all share a common theme—they use a corporate tax credit against taxes owed to the State of Texas to divert state dollars to private schools through a private non-profit corporation that picks students to receive “scholarships” to attend private schools. Private schools get a government subsidy using taxpayer dollars, corporations get a tax break, a small handful of students are benefited, and the 5 million students in Texas public schools get nothing.

Matt Damon Speaks before Save Our Schools March

"I had incredible teachers. And as I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all of these things came from how I was parented and taught.

Bad News for Texas Teachers

More bad news for Texas teachers
Friday, February 22, 2013
Read the entire article here

A few recent studies paint a mostly dismal picture for teachers in Texas and across the nation.

According to a recent National Education Association study, Texas’ per-pupil spending has fallen to about $8,500 — about $2,000 below the national average. (New York spends $17,746 per student.)

Nearly 5 million children attend public school in Texas — the second highest population in the country — but Texas has the largest instructional staff with 366,204 K-12 public school employees. Of those, 324,243 are teachers, data from the union said. That means there’s one teacher for every 14.7 students in Texas, compared to California’s abysmal ratio of 24:1...

Left Off of the Party Invitation List

"sh nothin'!  Thought I heard Sh'mbody knock."  The Texas Legislature parties with $8 Billion in slush fund, Texas schools get left behind with inadequate funding. 

Central Texas Teachers are Armed - Do You Feel Safer?

How often do you think teachers lose their keys, forget a few grades, get angry at students?  After all the recent national criticism of teachers' competency to do their jobs, now those same criticizers want to arm them?  What will be next?

Schools Suffer - Corporations Win Big in Texas

Standardized tests cost $1.2 billion since 2000

Investigation from KXAN

Tests' price tag $90 million this year

It is testing time for Central Texas students required to pass the state's new standardized test to assess their academic readiness. And a battle over the entire testing system is brewing between the state, educators, parents and students.

State Representatives & Senators Contact Information

State Representatives & Senators; U.S. Representatives & Senators for Fort Bend County, Texas

Texas budget writers anticipate losing court case over school funding

Top Texas budget writers anticipate losing court case over school funding
Austin Bureau
31 January 2013 11:10 PM

AUSTIN — The Legislature’s top budget writers indicated Thursday that they are pessimistic about the state’s chances of winning in a lawsuit brought by hundreds of school districts, though they said they haven’t seen harm to public schools from budget cuts enacted two years ago. Sen. Tommy Williams and Rep. Jim Pitts said that the state should set aside money in the budget — or leave money unspent — in case the Texas Supreme Court rules against the state late this year or next year. The districts’ suit argues that state school aid formulas are unconstitutionally unequal and their funding inadequate. “We’re looking at … an epic battle on this in 2014,” said Williams, R-The Woodlands.

Letter To America

A Teacher's Letter to America by Lisa Myers

Dear America,

It feels strange to hear your voice praising teachers for their selflessness, dedication, and love for their students. We’re listening to what you’re saying, but we must admit that we are listening with tilted head and quizzical eye. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to hearing a very different voice from you.
For the past few years, you’ve been certain that most of society’s problems stem from our schools, more specifically the teachers in those schools. We are lazy and useless, we are only in it for the money, we only teach for the vacation time, we don’t possess the intelligence to teach anyone much of anything, our demands for a respectable wage are selfish, we don’t teach students respect, we are leaches sucking the blood from State coffers, we don’t even work a full day like everyone else, and the most hurtful one of all – we don’t care about our students. Concerned citizens have even documented these ills in grossly successful movies that take the worst of us and use it to convince the public that teachers are deserving of nothing but disdain.

The Dead Beat Texas Legislature

Dead beat Texas Legislature guilty of abandoning about five million children.

"Best Cities for Teachers in 2012" blog mentions Texas twice

A "Best Cities for Teachers in 2012" blog mentions Texas twice.  Click here for the entire article:   http://mat.usc.edu/best-cities-for-teachers-in-2012/

No matter where you work, a teaching career offers a wide range of intangible rewards. Job satisfaction, an interesting daily routine and freedom from corporate power struggles are just a few of the non-material benefits of teaching.
When it comes to the more tangible rewards of the job, location can mean everything. Salaries and benefits for teachers vary from state to state, and some cities and school districts are more teacher-friendly than others. Demand for elementary, middle and high school teachers is expected to grow between now and 2018 as large numbers of teachers from the Baby Boomer generation reach retirement age, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS predicts the greatest demand will occur in states in the south and west. Job prospects for teachers will be best in urban areas and in high demand fields, such as science, mathematics and bilingual education.
In coming up with our list of best cities for teachers in 2012, we looked at cities across the country and classified them according to their compensation, benefits and teacher-to-student ratio. We also took a variety of lifestyle factors into account, including cost of living, proximity to fun activities, cultural opportunities and low crime rates.
Check out these top cities for teachers in 2012:

Houston Business Leaders Want to Cash In On the Texas Teacher Retirement System

Battle Brewing Over Texas Public Pensions
Texas could be gearing up for its own Wisconsin-style grudge match over public employee benefits.
A group of high-powered Houston business leaders is starting a statewide campaign to overhaul retirement for future teachers, firefighters, police officers, judges and other state and local government workers.

McAllen, Texas Teachers Following the Chicago Teachers' Strike - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com

A great report on Texas Teachers and the strike in Chicago.

Read the entire article here:  McAllen, Texas Teachers Following the Chicago Teachers' Strike - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com

Can everyone please take a seat so we can get started?
Like many others in McAllen and across the country, I have been keeping a close tab on the Chicago teachers’ strike.  Within the last hour, I read that in a somewhat surprising move, the teachers voted to extend the strike until at least Wednesday to give them more time to carefully study their proposed contract.  While I feel for the children in Chicago, I also understand how critical this contract is for the teachers and hope it will be resolved no later than Wednesday.
As I’ve read and listened to reports on the strike, a few things in particular have stood out:
*The first reports indicated that the driving force behind the strike was the decision to base up to 40 percent of the teachers’ evaluations on standardized test results.  Most good teachers welcome the idea of being evaluated on outcomes, as long as those outcomes are evaluated fairly.  I have yet to see a system that takes into account student attendance, motivation (or lack thereof) and study habits.  I also have never seen a system that takes into account that one English I teacher, for example, might teach the highest level students while another teacher has a class full of students who did not meet the minimum passing standards on last year’s standardized test.  If such an assessment were devised, I believe most good teachers would welcome it.  Contrary to what many might believe, good/great teachers don’t want students to be subjected to bad teachers...

Read the entire article here:  McAllen, Texas Teachers Following the Chicago Teachers' Strike - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com

Was Christie Right About Teacher Unions?

What do public school teachers think of the state of public education in America, teachers' unions and their roles, and who has the best interests of our children and our teachers at heart?

New Report Highlights Impacts of Teacher Layoffs, Need to Invest in Education

WASHINGTON, DC – The White House today released a new report that finds that the loss of teachers and other education staff is forcing communities into difficult choices that harm our children’s education and future, including increasing class sizes and shortening school years and days.  The report shows that more than 300,000 local education jobs have been lost since the end of the recession – a figure that stands in stark contrast to previous economic recoveries. As a result, the national student-teacher ratio increased by 4.6 percent from 2008 to 2010, rolling back all the gains made since 2000. Increased class sizes have negative consequences for the future of America’s children at a time when education has never been more important to finding a good job and maintaining our competitiveness as a nation. A copy of the full report is attached.