Thousands Of Texas Educators Protest Budget Cuts At Capitol

As spring break kicks off, thousands educators from around the state are hardly vacationing. Instead, they're protesting budget cuts at the state capitol.
A large rally Monday in Austin, organized in part by the American Federation of Teachers, arrived on the heels of another large protest on Saturday against a proposal to cut $10 billion in state education spending. Monday's rally drew about 4,000, according to local NBC station KXAN.
There were conflicting estimates for Saturday's protest attendance. The Associated Press, among other news outlets, reported about 5,000 people descended upon Austin, whereas local ABC station KTRK, among other news outlets, said the turnout was 11,000.
Amid Saturday's large crowd of protesters -- some carrying umbrellas to symbolize their request for lawmakers to dip into the Rainy Day Fund -- a middle schooler revved things up, local CBS station DFW reports.

"Because my teachers and people like you believe in me, and it rubs off on me."

Texas will have to plug a hole of up to $27 billion, a budget shortfall caused by the recession and a new business tax that hasn't raised the forecasted funds.

Gov. Perry: Not my fault if teachers are fired

In this article Governor Rick Perry is making it clear to the state of Texas:  He'll cut school budgets, not use the rainy day fund, but as for the hiring and firing?  "Don't look at me"

Gov. Perry: Not my fault if teachers are fired
By Peggy Fikac And Gary Scharrer, Houston Chronicle
Updated 12:24 p.m., Thursday, March 10, 2011

Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday the state's not to blame if teachers lose their jobs as school districts grapple with the potential loss of billions of state dollars.

School groups took issue with Perry's effort to distance the state from the effects of budget cuts, which by one estimate could cost up to 100,000 school district jobs through the next two years.

"The lieutenant governor, the (Texas House) speaker, and their colleagues aren't going to hire or fire one teacher, best I can tell. That is a local decision that will be made at the local districts," Perry said when asked about a Texas Capitol rally planned Saturday by teachers, parents and others concerned about the potential cuts.

Families and small businesses across Texas "are making decisions about what's a priority," Perry said, "… and I think school districts are no different."

He said if he were deciding, he'd focus on "non-teaching" staff - which a number of school districts have said wouldn't suffice to meet the cuts.

"Let there be no mistake, the decisions being made in school districts across the state regarding staff layoffs are a direct result of state funding cuts proposed by lawmakers," an alliance of education groups said in a joint statement.

"We urge lawmakers to use a balanced approach in developing a state budget, including accessing the rainy day fund" state savings account, said the Texas Association of School Administrators, Texas Association of School Boards and Texas School Alliance.


Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/default/article/Gov-Perry-Not-my-fault-if-teachers-are-fired-1061543.php#ixzz1Gi14paOX

The Right Way and the Wrong Way to Handle the State Revenue Crisis

Letters are going out to state legislators regarding the state budget.  Texas education will continue to fall way below the nation's average if more cuts are made.  The letter is below:

Destructive cuts in funding for education and other essential public services are not the answer to the state budget shortfall that confronts the 2011 legislative session. State funding for public schools already lags behind growth in enrollment, inflation, and the cost of meeting rising state achievement goals. Texas needs to invest more, not less, in the nearly five million children attending our public schools.

Destructive cuts in funding for education and other essential public services are not the answer to the state revenue shortfall that confronts the 2011 legislative session. State funding for public schools already lags behind growth in enrollment, inflation, and the cost of meeting rising state achievement goals. Texas needs to invest more, not less, in the nearly five million children attending our public schools.

To address the short-term revenue problems caused by the recession and avoid destructive cuts, I urge you to declare publicly your support for the full use of the state’s Rainy Day Fund. This economic stabilization fund is intended to counteract exactly the kind of economic downturn accompanied by revenue shortfalls that we are experiencing now. Fully using the $9 billion available in the Rainy Day Fund will go a long way to prevent needless harm to our state’s schoolchildren and their families.

There also are long-term, structural revenue shortfalls in the state’s finances that require long-term solutions. The 2006 bill that reduced school property taxes did not produce nearly enough replacement revenue. That bill at the same time made it much harder for elected school boards to raise revenue locally above $1.04 per $100 of value. The state also has exempted business and professional services from the state sales tax, leaving untaxed the main growth sector in the state’s economy. The legislature should rethink all these policies. Taxing most business and professional services (while preserving the exemption for “lifeline” services such as health care and child care) would raise $5.6 billion per biennium.

Please support the necessary and feasible short-term and long-term solutions to the state’s revenue problems and don’t shortchange the future–our schoolchildren.

Ronald Reagan on Unions

"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." - Ronald Reagan, September 1, 1980

Comment: How does the school district hold a meeting to allow public comments, but NO BOARD MEMBER nor the SUPERINDENT bothers to show up?? In the 27 years I have lived in this school district, I have never seen such disrespect of the parents and, more importantly, our children in regards to their legitimate concerns. The board members chose to accept comments by having attendees fill out comment forms.

Parents express concern about Fort Bend ISD rezoning plan

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas – Parents showed their concerns Monday as the Fort Bend ISD school board gathered to vote on its Option 3 rezoning plan, which would affect about 1,700 students if approved at all levels.
During the meeting, the district’s school board approved the plans for its elementary and middle school students. It changed its plan for middle schools at the last minute to allow both incoming sixth and seventh graders to stay at their current schools if they choose, but without any transportation provided by the district.
The most contentious part of the plan involves the high school shift, which was still being debated and amended late Monday night.
The entire rezoning process, the district’s third in the past 10 years, had plenty of people in the community up in arms.
"Keep neighborhoods together. Have a long term plan that doesn’t ping pong our kids from school to school every couple of years," said parent Sharon Evans.
Another parent said it was time to put her foot down.
"It doesn’t matter what neighborhood you belong to," said Miriam Ahrendt. "If you are in their target zone, they consider us to be expendable, that we are not going to complain. That is what happens from year to year. We are going to be here and stand up for our kids. Enough is enough."
The rezoning process is just one issue Fort Bend ISD was dealing with Monday, as the school board spent a significant amount of time discussing the district’s budget problems.
District officials say the budget could have a deficit as much as $74 million, which could mean potential layoffs of more than 1,000 teachers.

Union Takes Stand Against Unreasonable Clause in Teacher Contract

“Employee’s salary includes consideration for all assigned duties, responsibilities, and tasks, regardless of the actual number of days (including weekends and days designated as “holiday” on the District duty schedule) that the Employee works during the contract period.”

The Federation’s position is that the document fails to meet basic legal requirements of a contract, that educators are have no way to know how much they will be expected to work in the upcoming year or how much they will be paid, even after they lose the unilateral right to resign (the unilateral right for every teacher to resign occurs 45 days prior to the start of school), usually around the second week of July. Based on this contract, an educator could in effect be required to work anywhere from 187 to theoretically 360 days and that an amendment to the days worked could actually create a situation where the district would fail to meet state minimum salary requirements.

A previous legal precedent has already been set.

Texas AFT General Counsel Martha Owen Cites North East ISD v. Kelley, the Commissioner of Education and the Texas Education Agency

 

Kelley was contesting North East ISD’s attempt to enforce a ten month contract by forcing him to work an extra day and the District’s ability to modify the number of workdays an educator was required to work beyond the 187 days originally published in the District’s calendar.

 

The Hearing Officer noted that both the District and the Federation acknowledged that the Kelley case could have an effect on the disposition of this grievance.

 

On December 9, 2010, the Third Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision, held that “the North East ISD’s work and salary schedules were incorporated by reference into the educator contract and that the contract required the educator to work only those number of days as designated by the calendar during the contract period.”

Troubled North Forest ISD laying off 90 teachers

Even more job cuts likely as district tries to reduce potential $17 million shortfall

By ERICKA MELLON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

March 26, 2008, 10:56PM

The financial crisis in the North Forest school district is about to get personal for some 90 teachers who will get pink slips in coming days as part of a major staff-reduction plan.
In a rare unanimous vote, trustees agreed late Tuesday not renew the teachers' contracts next school year as they work under intense pressure from the Texas Education Agency to reduce a looming $17 million budget shortfall.
Even more job cuts, expected to involve principals, nurses, counselors and central office employees, are likely in coming weeks, said Interim Superintendent William Jones. Already, layoffs have affected about 10 percent of employees, based on data from the district.
Betty Robinson, president of the local teachers' association, said she has accepted the fact that the district's staff needs to shrink.
''I know we've got to lose some people to keep the district alive," said Robinson, a 30-year veteran of North Forest, who also runs its American Federation of Teachers chapter. ''I hope they are keeping the very best, people who are dedicated to the children."

See the rest of the article here:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5648971.html

Texas Superintendent Salaries: 2010

Texas Superintendent Salaries: 2010

Facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, some lawmakers are questioning whether public schools spend too much on administration.

Reporter: By Matt Stiles, Texas Tribune


AUSTIN (March 1, 2011)-- Facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, some lawmakers are questioning whether public schools spend too much on administration, or, more specifically, administrator pay.
Atop that list are Texas' superintendents, the chief executives at more than 1,000 districts statewide.

These officials are paid on average about $108,000 a year, according to the Texas Education Agency's list of salaries from the 2009-10 academic year.
But at least two-dozen are paid more than $200,000, and not all run the largest districts.
More than 50 school districts have more students than Beaumont Independent School District, for example, but its superintendent, Carrol Thomas, makes the most: $346,000.
The top paid superintendents in Central Texas are Killeen’s Robert Muller, who makes $215,000 and ranks No. 56 on the state list, and Midway’s Brad Lancaster, who makes $179,000 and ranks No. 103 on the statewide list.  

Fort Bend Superintendent, Dr. Timothy Jenney is currently ranked 24th in pay at a staggering $260,339.  In other words, he is paid four dollars for every student in Fort Bend I.S.D.

The average secondary school teacher salary in the United States is currently $42,266 according to the site, Payscale.com.  Texas ranks just above the middle at $44,347 in teacher salaries.
 

Check Out Superintendent Salaries

Teachers' Right To Join A Union

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE LAW AND YOUR RIGHTS

The Texas Education Code States:
§ 21.408. RIGHT TO JOIN OR NOT TO JOIN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION. This chapter does not abridge the right of an educator to join any professional association or organization or refuse to join any professional association or organization.

As a public employee your rights are protected by State Law and Federal Constitution.

Article 5152. Revised Civil Statutes of Texas sets forth the RIGHT to ORGANIZE. "It shall be lawful for any and all persons engaged in any kind of work or labor, manual or mental, or both, to associate themselves together and form trade unions and other organizations for the purpose of protecting themselves in their pursuits and employments." (Acts 1899)

Article 5154c, Section 4 "It is declared to be the public policy of the State of Texas that NO PERSON SHALL BE DENIED PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BY REASON OF MEMBERSHIP or non-membership IN A LABOR ORGANIZATION."

Article 5154c, Section6. "The provisions of this act shall not impair the existing right of public employees to PRESENT GRIEVANCES concerning their wages, hours of work or conditions of work, individually or THROUGH A REPRESENTATIVE that does not claim the right to strike."

Article 5154g, Section 1. "It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Texas that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization and that in the exercise of such rights, ALL PERSONS SHALL BE FREE FROM THREATS, FORCE, INTIMIDATION OR COERCION."

STATE LAW-ACTS 1947, 50TH LEGISLATURE,P.231,CH.135

A Teacher's Right to a Duty-Free Lunch

The Texas Education Code States:
§ 21.405. DUTY-FREE LUNCH. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), each classroom teacher or full-time librarian is entitled to at least a 30-minute lunch period free from all duties and responsibilities connected with the instruction and supervision of students. Each school district may set flexible or rotating schedules for each classroom teacher or full-time librarian in the district for the implementation of the duty-free lunch period. (b) The implementation of this section may not result in a lengthened school day. (c) If necessary because of a personnel shortage, extreme economic conditions, or an unavoidable or unforeseen circumstance, a school district may require a classroom teacher or librarian entitled to a duty-free lunch to supervise students during lunch. A classroom teacher or librarian may not be required to supervise students under this subsection more than one day in any school week. The commissioner by rule shall prescribe guidelines for determining what constitutes a personnel shortage, extreme economic conditions, or an unavoidable or unforeseen circumstance for purposes of this subsection.

A Teacher's Right to Planning and Preparation Time

The Texas Education Code States:
§ 21.404. PLANNING AND PREPARATION TIME. Each classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each two-week period for instructional preparation, including parent-teacher conferences, evaluating students' work, and planning. A planning and preparation period under this section may not be less than 45 minutes within the instructional day. During a planning and preparation period, a classroom teacher may not be required to participate in any other activity.

Do Texas Schools Spend Too Much on Administration?

by Morgan Smith
2/25/2011

Reference Material
Texas Superintendent Salaries 2009-10 CSV (96.8 KB) download

Beaumont Independent School District is the 64th largest in Texas. It is also the home of the state’s highest-paid public school administrator. Superintendent Carrol Thomas takes home $346,778 annually — a fact that could soon bring an uncomfortable spotlight to the community.

For lawmakers scrutinizing every possible saving, the broad category of “administrative costs” presents an easy mark.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston and the vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee, called the 58,575 people employed in nonteaching support positions by Texas public schools —”your math department supervisors, your curriculum experts” — a "soft target" for budget cutters. Those positions “must be seriously addressed,” he said. “That number is not based on reality.”

According to Patrick, the ratio of teachers to nonteachers, which includes those employed in administrative and support capacities, in districts has grown to nearly 1 to 1 today from 4 to 1 in the 1970s.

Senator Rodney Ellis Weighs In On Texas Education

Senator Rodney Ellis of District 13 of Texas weighed in on the budget cuts that Texas faces and the consequences of cutting education.  Since the unions in Texas don't have the power that those in most other states do, cutting teachers' benefits and salaries shouldn't be as big of a problem for the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry.  Or will it?

http://www.ellis.senate.state.tx.us/

As you know, the biggest issue facing Texas this legislative session is the unprecedented
$27 billion budget deficit. Thus far, the budget solution to this crisis has been
proposed cuts to services and programs vital to Texas families. Today I want to
focus on the reckless cuts to public and higher education which betray our school
kids and mortgage their future.

A decade ago we were talking about putting a computer in every classroom and wiring
all schools; today we're talking about closing schools and tearing the wiring out
of the walls. For a generation, we pushed kids to take AP courses to better prepare
for college; now we're doing away with them. We used to have a teacher shortage;
 now school districts are offering teachers $10,000 to quit; 10 years ago, every
 eligible student received a TEXAS Grant; under this budget, less than 30 percent
will.

This is a blueprint for building the Texas of the 19th Century, not the 21st.

These deep cuts represent a giant leap backward for Texas and will damage our ability
to compete in the decades ahead.  If this budget -- or anything like it -- passes,
public education in Texas as we know it will be irreparably harmed. The progress
 we have made over the decades -- and the progress we still need to achieve -- will
end and we will spend the rest of this decade climbing out of the hole we have dug
ourselves.

Public Education Budget Cuts: An Overview

If education is the key to the future, Texas is set to change the locks and barricade
the door. The proposed budget slashes nearly $10 billion from public schools, fires
potentially 100,000 public school teachers, threatens to shut down hundreds of public
schools, eliminates Pre-K and Advanced Placement courses.  The budget crisis has
 also led to calls to roll back a landmark education reform --class size limits
-- which has been instrumental to Texas' educational improvement.

Here are how these destructive public education cuts could impact Texas families:


* Spending on public education is cut by $9.8 billion.  This is could lead to the
reduction of nearly 100,000 teachers' jobs statewide, a severe problem in an already
struggling economy;
* Layoffs at the Texas Education Agency are already underway and the agency has
already cut $153 million from its current budget;
* HISD alone faces up to $350 million in cuts to our kids; over 3,800 teachers could
lose their jobs;
* HISD also may have to consider closing schools in our community;
* Fort Bend ISD faces nearly $74 million in cuts and a potential loss of at least
1,000 teachers;
* Alief ISD, which serves an 80 percent economically disadvantaged student population,
could see a $47 million cut, which could cost 900 jobs;
* Pre-K and Early Childhood School Ready programs are eliminated;
* Advanced Placement college readiness courses are eliminated.

Hundreds of FBISD Teachers Laid Off, Jenney Gets 5 Year Contract

"I'm clear about which way the community wants the vote to go, and I voted that way.  I respect the votes of the other board members. But they see a different district than I do. I see a district of low morale, a district where they have laid off more than 400 people, where people are afraid to speak, where students are continually being rezoned, where they try to blame the state for all ills." - Jim Babb, FBISD Board Member

Fort Bend ISD chief gets 5-year contract extension

by ZEN T.C. ZHENG, HOUSTON CHRONICLE published January 12, 2011 12:24 pm

Fort Bend school district Superintendent Tim Jenney's contract has been extended through the end of 2015.
On a 6-1 vote, with trustee Jim Babb opposing, the school board approved the move Monday, Jan. 10.
Jenney was hired by the district in 2006 on a four-year contract that has been renewed yearly. School board president Sonal Bhuchar said that under the new five-year contract, Jenney will be evaluated annually.
A district news release issued Tuesday states Jenney will take a "$34,000 reduction in compensation" for the 2011-12 school year as part of the new contract.
The cut, however, is not for Jenney's base salary, which stands at more than $260,000. Bhuchar confirmed that the money is part of a job-performance-based $70,000 annual bonus that Jenney has been receiving.
While the $34,000 is being cut for the first year, that portion of the bonus will be reinstated each year after that and paid to Jenney's state retirement system account. While $36,000 out of the $70,000 bonus will still be tied to his job performance, the $34,000 payment toward the retirement system no longer will be, Bhuchar said.
She said the board extended the contract because of Jenney's achievements since he was hired.
"Significant gains have been made in our students' test scores every year, with more than 80 percent of our campuses now rated recognized or exemplary," she said. "We have also shown significant progress in closing the achievement gap between student groups."
She also praised Jenney's willingness to take the $34,000 cut for the first year of the new pact in light of the district's budget crunch.
Babb, however, said the $34,000 cut is deceptive because it doesn't apply to Jenney's base salary. He said his vote against the contract extension represents the will of the community he represents.

Teachers in Middle of Political Battle Between Business and Unions

No Unions, Government by the Rich, For the Rich

By Ken Bernstein, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Kenneth Bernstein is a National Board certified social studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he serves as the lead union representative for the teachers. He blogs as "teacherken" at Daily Kos and has written for The New York Times, Teacher, and Huffington Post. He is a 2010 Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher.

 

CNN article on Wisconsin protests. 

 Recent weeks have seen attacks on public employees in several states. In New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin, newly elected Republican governors are seeking to remove the right to collective bargaining, except perhaps on wages, and to eliminate or shift a major portion of the costs for pensions upon the workers.

Longstanding procedures that guarantee due process for experienced teachers, commonly called tenure, are being targeted for elimination.

Let's be clear what is going on. Only three of the top 10 spenders in the most recent elections were unions. Among the others were organizations representing business interests, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and individual corporations themselves. Both corporations and unions were unleashed by the Citizens United decision.

If unions can be broken in the public sector, this will further tilt the political playing field on behalf of corporate interests and their Republican allies. This will also silence one of the few remaining vehicles that advocate on behalf of ordinary people in this country.

Too few Americans know labor history and how they have benefited from the efforts of unions.
--Kenneth Bernstein

Too few Americans know labor history and how they have benefited from the efforts of unions. We have a 40-hour work week, defined benefits, higher wages, paid vacations and sick leave, largely as the result of union activity in the 20th century. We built a middle-class society in the period after World War II, also a period when the work force was, compared with today, heavily unionized.

Public employees, especially teachers, are usually better educated than their peers doing equivalent work in the private sector, but usually have lower salaries. Benefits, including pensions and health care, are part of what they receive in lieu of higher salaries.

It is worth knowing that average salaries and incomes are higher in states that are more heavily unionized. Simultaneously, if one insists upon using test scores as a measure of academic performance, it is worth noting that states with unionized work forces perform at a higher level than right to work states, according to studies and analysis. We have known for years that there is a strong correlation between family income and performance on such measurements.

There are serious financial stresses on state and local governments. States have seen revenues drop as a result of job losses. This has led to lower revenues from sales and income taxes.

And we will have a government of the corporations, by the already powerful, for the wealthy.
--Kenneth Bernstein 

The Daily Show take on the Wisconsin educator protests.  

Rachel Maddow's in depth take on the undercurrent of politics behind the Teacher Union fight in Wisconsin. 

Rick Perry's Texas Open For Business, Residents Left Out In The Cold

Study: Texas Railroad Commission's rulings often favor utilities | News | News from Fort...

The study was conducted by policy analyst R.A. Dyer, a former Austin correspondent for the Star-Telegram. In all but one of the examined cases, the study says, the commission rejected the overall revenue requirement proposed by the hearing examiners in favor of a revenue requirement granting the company more money.
In a 2004 case involving TXU, which has since been merged into Atmos, the examiners recommended that the North Texas utility receive a $19.7 million rate decrease. Instead, commissioners awarded an $11.7 million increase.
Additionally, said the study, the commissioners also shifted some of the burden for gas rates from the utility's industrial customers onto its residential customers. As a result, residential bills went up 4 to 5 percent, while commercial customers received an 8.4 percent rate cut and industrial customers' rates were cut by 27 percent.
The commission, in its statement, said that commissioners decided "to end a decades-long practice of having the industrial customers subsidize the cost of residential customers. Residential rates reflect the fact that they are more numerous and use less natural gas per customer than commercial customers."

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/13/2701665/study-texas-railroad-commissions.html#ixzz1FDeTa9wY

What Will Fort Bend ISD Do If The State Cuts Education?

No matter what happens in the Texas legislature, Tim Jenney is intent on justifying the immense number of layoffs in 2009-2010 in Fort Bend.  Now he says that we're better prepared for budget cuts and if and when they happen he'll say "I told you so".  Let's be clear.  The decisions to lay off hundreds of FBISD employees, to cut all overtime pay to custodians, to cut time off of bus drivers' sick days, were the decisions of the FBISD board and Tim Jenney.

Supt. Tim Jenney says, "Although Texas school districts have been warned for several years that this shortfall was coming and to be prepared for deep cuts in the state’s funding for school districts, none of this bodes well for public education; and once again we will be preparing for budget reductions to fit the different scenarios. However, because we implemented a Reduction-In-Force (RIF) last year, we hope adjusting to the shortfall this year will be less harsh on all of us this coming budget season. In fact, it is our intent to handle most staff level reductions through attrition. Nevertheless, the one consequence of this approach is that we will need to use substitutes in many situations for the rest of the year. While this may not be the most desirable approach, it does allow the district to manage or reduce the number of staff members without having to use a Reduction-In-Force."

As all teachers know the trickle down theory in education: Taking from teachers hurts everyone in the classroom, especially the students.

We can't afford to cut education - from First Lady, Barbara Bush

“We’ve cut taxes for small business, balanced our budgets, and set aside $8 billion for a rainy day.”  That's what Rick Perry said in his commercial while running for governor of Texas on September 14, 2010.  Unfortunately, Perry was about $27 Billion off the mark.   After he was reelected, reality set in.   Perry now has to decide how to fix this deep hole in the Texas budget.  And he wants to do it without raising anyone's taxes (after all, it's Texas) and without getting into that great rainy day fund.  No, Perry and the Texas congress would rather cut everything from social services, education, health care and anything that the good people of Texas truly care about on a day to day basis.  Just as long as Texas stays "open for business".   

This article from the Houston Chronicle by former First Lady, Barbara Bush, gives a sobering perspective on education in Texas and Governor Rick Perry's purposed budget cuts.  

By BARBARA BUSH-HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Feb. 5, 2011, 4:30PM

No one envies our governor and state legislators as they set to the daunting task of trying to figure out how to close the state's biennial budget gap that some estimate is as high as $27 billion.

For the good of our state and our future, I urge them to do everything they can to protect our students.

However, not all the challenges facing our schools are about shrinking budgets. The education of our children is a partnership — a partnership among the schools, the parents, businesses, churches and the rest of the community.

Right now that partnership is failing. Our schools are in crises:

•  We rank 36th in the nation in high school graduation rates. An estimated 3.8 million Texans do not have a high school diploma.

•  We rank 49th in verbal SAT scores, 47th in literacy and 46th in average math SAT scores.

•  We rank 33rd in the nation on teacher salaries.

•  Despite our outstanding universities and colleges, we also lag behind in several critical higher education criteria. For example, California has nine nationally recognized research institutions, New York has seven and Pennsylvania has four. With the University of Houston's recent designation by the Carnegie Foundation as a top research institution, Texas, the second largest state, has four.

In light of these statistics, can we afford to cut the number of teachers, increase class sizes, eliminate scholarships for underprivileged students and close several community colleges?

At a time when the United Way estimates that the price tag for dropouts to Texas taxpayers is $9.6 billion every year, can we really afford to cut state funding for our students?

The answer is a resounding "no."

Cleaning house and Improving Morale

Even in times of budget cuts and lay offs, a worker can find consolation in the fact that their boss (principal) appreciates the work they do.  There has to be some sense of security that a teacher has at their school.  When word gets around as it always does that teachers and other employees are being told “maybe this isn’t the place for you” when they criticize administrative decisions or “if you don’t like it you can leave” when they offer suggestions about policies, this deals a death blow to morale.  Cleaning house and keeping up morale don’t work well together.

Budget Proposal Slashes TRS Funding

The Texas House released its budget proposal for the coming biennium. This proposal cuts billions from areas such as health and human services, education, and other government services. The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) did not escape the early budget cutting. The House proposal reduced funding to the TRS pension fund from 6.644 percent to the Texas Constitutional minimum of 6 percent. Compounding these cuts and potentially causing immediate financial harm to TRTA members, the TRS-Care health insurance program funding is being cut in half.

Click here to send an email to your legislators asking them to restore TRS pension and health care budget cuts!

Pension Fund Reductions

The TRS Board of Directors asked the Texas Legislature to fund the retirement system at the same level as the previous biennium. That contribution level is 6.644 percent. In addition, the TRS Board suggested a rate increase in each year of the coming biennium by 0.5 percent. The TRS Board of Trustees proposal, if adopted, increases funding for TRS to 7.2 percent in the first year of the biennium and to 7.7 percent in the second year.

The TRS funding proposal compliments the pension fund’s overall recovery, and is necessary to ensure the long-term solvency of the pension trust fund. As many TRTA members know, the investments have helped bring the pension fund back from a major market decline, but higher contributions are necessary to help make the system actuarially sound.

Unfortunately, though, the first budget proposal that we have seen from the Texas House immediately reduces funding to the lowest level allowed by the Texas Constitution.

For retirees, this House budget proposal does nothing to address the decade-long period of no permanent pension increase. The legislature must find a way to move the system in the direction of actuarial soundness, but the early action proposed in this budget worsens the actuarial condition of the fund by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Active employees should also be concerned about the reduced funding. The reduced state contribution will cost the system hundreds of millions of dollars in future interest earnings. Since so much of a retiree’s pension is based on the system’s ability to earn interest on these investment funds, future retirees are being severely impacted before they ever retire.

TRTA understands the tremendous pressure being exerted on Texas legislators to do more with less. However, retired public education employees have been doing more with less for 10 long years. We need a plan that moves us forward. This budget proposal does the opposite.