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.”
It will take a two-thirds vote of the 150-member House to use the Rainy Day Fund for any purpose in the 2014-2015 budget. If the 55-member Democratic Caucus sticks together on the stance stated in the letter to Speaker Straus, then no use of the Rainy Day Fund for water and transportation can pass without also including funding for public education.
That is real leverage that could be used to win restoration of the full $5.4 billion in education funding needed to avoid ongoing cuts in 2014-2015. So far the House budget would restore $2.5 billion, and the Senate version of the budget would restore only $1.5 billion.
No comments:
Post a Comment