Letter to Rep Riddle: Education Budgets
Ms. Riddle,
As you know, Texas is at the bottom of many leading indicators regarding education (primary and secondary), graduation rates (the state ranks last in the percentage of people 25 and older with a high school diploma) and on the high end of people living below poverty (4th in the nation).
To be clear -- I am not a best friend of public education. I taught in the Klein ISD for years and saw teachers unprepared and a district unwilling to make tough decisions to improve the learning environment.
Cutting the state's education budget, however, as proposed by Gov. Perry and HB1 will be disastrous to Texas for generations to come. Our poverty will increase. The jobs we offer to our people will continue to be low-paying jobs with few benefits, our college graduates will continue to leave the state for better graduate schools and better jobs. The poor -- the people who need a solid education most -- will suffer more than you and me -- and future welfare expenditures and crime will likely increase. These are not scare statements -- these are trends for states (and countries) who do not provide adequate funding for education.
And Houston -- we have just now seen the University of Houston reach one criterium for being a Tier One university. If student financial aid is cut now, then the UH will slip back and the city and county will lose the talent that otherwise would go there, to other universities, or have talented students simply avoid college altogether.
Cutting the education budget cannot be an option. Raise revenue -- that is the best option. Everything else will be a curse and a byword for generations to come as Texas will continue to be seen as a second-rate state who doesn't value quality education.
As you know, Texas is at the bottom of many leading indicators regarding education (primary and secondary), graduation rates (the state ranks last in the percentage of people 25 and older with a high school diploma) and on the high end of people living below poverty (4th in the nation).
To be clear -- I am not a best friend of public education. I taught in the Klein ISD for years and saw teachers unprepared and a district unwilling to make tough decisions to improve the learning environment.
Cutting the state's education budget, however, as proposed by Gov. Perry and HB1 will be disastrous to Texas for generations to come. Our poverty will increase. The jobs we offer to our people will continue to be low-paying jobs with few benefits, our college graduates will continue to leave the state for better graduate schools and better jobs. The poor -- the people who need a solid education most -- will suffer more than you and me -- and future welfare expenditures and crime will likely increase. These are not scare statements -- these are trends for states (and countries) who do not provide adequate funding for education.
And Houston -- we have just now seen the University of Houston reach one criterium for being a Tier One university. If student financial aid is cut now, then the UH will slip back and the city and county will lose the talent that otherwise would go there, to other universities, or have talented students simply avoid college altogether.
Cutting the education budget cannot be an option. Raise revenue -- that is the best option. Everything else will be a curse and a byword for generations to come as Texas will continue to be seen as a second-rate state who doesn't value quality education.