EDITOR'S NOTE: Donna Garner is a frequent contributor to RFFM.org. Garner resides in central Texas and was an educator for 33 years before her recent retirement. Garner was appointed by President Reagan and re-appointed by President George H. W. Bush to serve on the National Commission on Migrant Education in the late 1980's through the early 1990's.
Almost five years ago, Garner became the writer/consultant for MyStudyHall.com, an online tutorial to help students ages 10 through 100 learn English skills. Garner is currently a researcher and author involving political, social and education issues and she is an advocate for many pro-family, pro-life organizations.
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMEN FROM TEXAS PARTICIPATE IN POLITICAL THEATER WITH FUNDING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BY DONNA GARNER
Democratic Congressmen Chet Edwards and Lloyd Doggett (along with other Democrats) have shown their true colors.
Not only did they and their Democratic cronies attach more than $20 billion in domestic spending provisions to the supplemental war-spending bill (H. R. 4899 passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on 7.1.10), but they attached Amendment #2 that is specifically focused on Texas as an attempt to take revenge on Texas Republican Gov. Perry and Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.
GOV. RICK PERRY AND EDUCATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT SCOTT -- TARGETED BY DEMOCRATS
Gov. Perry and Commissioner Scott were wise enough to recognize the dangers presented to Texas public schools in President Barack Obama's plan to federalize public schools through the Common Core Standards and the Race to the Top program:
National standards → national tests → national curriculum → teachers' salaries tied to students' test scores → teachers teaching to the test each and every day → federal indoctrination of our public school children
Texas has spent the last four years rewriting its own standards (English / Language Arts / Reading, Science, and Social Studies), and Perry and Scott refused to dismiss that excellent work. These Texas officials along with legislators from Alaska turned down the Obama administration's federal "carrot" by refusing to participate in Common Core Standards and the Race to the Top initiative.
Now Gov. Perry and Commissioner Scott have a target on their backs.
CONGRESSMAN CHET EDWARDS AND LLOYD DOGGETT -- PLAYING POLITICS WITH SCHOOL FUNDING
Democratic Congressmen Chet Edwards and Lloyd Doggett added Amendment #2 to H. R. 4899 that will keep Texas state education officials from deciding how $800 million in federal aid to public schools in that state should be spent.
Amendment #2 states, in order for Texas to qualify for the $800 million for the public schools, Gov. Perry would have to guarantee that state legislators would have to appropriate school funding that would equal or exceed current funding for the next three fiscal years (through 2013) .
First problem: The Texas Constitution does not give a Governor the authority to tell the legislature how to spend its appropriations.
Second problem: The Governor does not have the Constitutional authority to bind future legislators to explicit appropriations amounts.
EDWARDS AND DOGGETT -- USURPING TEXAS CONSTITUTION
What Democrats Edwards and Doggett have done is to attach an amendment to federal legislation that usurps the authority of the Constitution of the state of Texas. I wonder how most Texans would feel about that!
Even if the two unconstitutional problems were resolved, Texas would not be able to utilize the $800 million in H. R. 4899 because those federal funds would have to be distributed through the federal Title I program.
According to current data provided by the Texas Education Agency, 852 school districts would get less funding than they would receive through the state's current funding formulas.
This means that 852 public schools would actually lose money if Texas allowed the amendment designed by Texas Democratic Congressmen to usurp our Texas Constitution. How crazy is that?
BIGGEST IRONY OF ALL -- EDWARDS AND DOGGETT HURT OWN SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Here’s the biggest irony of all: Under Amendment #2, the public schools in Congressman Chet Edwards’ District 17 would lose $7,448,696. Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s school districts would lose $2,407,276.
[I can hardly wait until the school superintendents in those Congressional districts learn what their Congressmen have done to them.]
CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT’S "BEEF"
Last year, Congressman Lloyd Doggett complained loudly that the $3.2 billion Stimulus funds should have gone to the public schools and that instead the money was kept in the Rainy Day Fund.
Is Doggett’s contention accurate?
GOV. PERRY’S CONCERNS WITH STIMULUS FUNDS
From the very beginning, Gov. Perry said Texas should only take Stimulus funds for one-time expenses. Texas school districts knew the funding was only for two years.
Gov. Perry warned on 2.17.09 (Houston Chronicle):
‘In Texas, we actually know it is a good idea to look a gift horse in the mouth. If we don’t, we may end up with an old nag,’ said Perry, who has been critical of such federal spending and voiced concern over whether the state could afford federal strings.
DID TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS GET THEIR SHARE OF STIMULUS FUNDS?
Did Texas public schools receive a sizeable share of the Stimulus funds?
On 7.20.09, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts said that the federal Stimulus law sent Texas at least $6.4 billion for public education over two years.
A billion went for low-interest school construction bonds, renovation, and land purchases; and another $2.2 billion was sent to school districts for special education or at-risk students. The Stimulus money was not to be used by schools for maintenance costs.
The final $3.2 billion of the Stimulus money is what the Legislature used to plug budgetary holes.
Austin ISD received about $41 million over two years, and around $39 million was given to other Central Texas school districts. Similar amounts went to school districts all across the state.
Were there definite accountability rules built into the Stimulus funds? In today’s Dallas Morning News, it was reported that school districts were allowed to use up to $25,000 of the Stimulus funds with no federal reporting; unfortunately, it is almost impossible to track those funds.
On July 24, 2009 (Austin American-Statesman), Congressman Lloyd Doggett reported, “The U.S. Department of Education has approved Texas’ application for using $3.2 billion in federal stimulus money.”
The Austin American-Statesman went on to say:
That money will be used to pay for textbooks and a $1.9 billion increase in school funding, which covers an $800 raise for all Texas teachers…There had been concerns that the Texas application might not win federal approval…Congressional Democrats had complained loudly that Texas misused its stimulus money by filling the state’s budget holes with the federal dollars while leaving untouched the $9.1 billion rainy day fund.
The Stimulus funds went to pay for Special Education and/or at-risk students, school construction bonds, textbooks, and teachers’ raises.
Texas kept its Rainy Day Fund locked away for future emergencies.
The U. S. Department of Education approved Texas’ application for the $3.2 billion, and Texas public schools did indeed get a huge share of the Stimulus funds.
PER PUPIL SPENDING IN TEXAS
Michael Q. Sullivan of Empower Texans recently reported on May 19, 2010:
Texas taxpayers now spend $11,084 per year/ per child on public education. But less than half of it makes it toward instructional expenses…Ten years ago Texas was spending just $5,857. (If per-pupil spending had increased with inflation, it’d be just $7,542 now, not $11,084.)…Texas had 22 percent more non-teachers on the payroll in 2009 than in 1999.
EDWARDS AND DOGGETT -- NO GROUNDS FOR COMPLAINTS
I see no reason for Democrat Congressmen Edwards and Doggett to fault Texas for its use of the Stimulus funds. The truth is that Texas public schools got a huge infusion of money, and the Democrats have no grounds whatsoever to add the Texas-specific Amendment #2 to the war spending bill.
EDWARDS, DOGGETT AND “POLITICAL THEATER”
Obviously Amendment #2 was written to create political theater in an election year where Democrats Bill White, Congressman Chet Edwards, and Congressman Lloyd Doggett are on the November ballot.
Republican Bill Flores is a well-qualified, conservative candidate running against Chet Edwards, and Gov. Perry has a very successful record on which to base his re-election. Conservative physician Donna Campbell is running against Lloyd Doggett.
I would say that all three -- White, Edwards, and Doggett -- have reasons to worry about Nov. 2, 2010.
ACTION STEPS
Because the House legislation is different from the bill previously passed in the Senate, H. R. 4899 must go back to the Senate for final approval. The Senate will not take up the bill until July 12th because legislators will be attending Sen. Robert Byrd’s funeral.
Please write to Senators Cornyn and Hutchison and ask them not to vote for H. R. 4899 with the egregious Amendment #2 attached.
Donna Garner can be contacted at: [email protected]
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