ATTENTION: Call your STATE representatives and tell them to vote AGAINST this rule!!! (Click here to find out your state representative and their phone number.  Make sure you call the “Texas STATE Representative”)

A procedural rule will be introduced TODAY (04-21-06) in the House as the first frontal assault on teachers, schools, and school districts. The rule will dictate the procedure of the house and will regulate amendments, costs, and most importantly the required focus of the legislation.

The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled that the current property tax is an unconstitutional statewide property tax. Now, Austin is in a frenzy trying to fix the problem and “get out of dodge.”

If legislators vote for the proposed rule TODAY (04-21-06), they will be voting for restricting House Bill 1 (The Highland Park Windfall Proposal) to only taxation issues and will not address school funding.

This will mandate that no amendment can be offered to increase teacher pay, no new textbooks, no funding for school facilities, no teacher health insurance, and no extra funding for transportation during these time of extraordinary gas prices.

It is time to hold the legislature accountable to teachers and students. It is time for our elected officials to focus their attention on school funding and not just creating huge windfalls for Highland Park, Alamo Heights, or Bellaire while forgetting Edgewood, Houston, Dallas, or the thousands of other school districts.

By voting for a rule today, they are saying no to education for potentially the next decade!

This bill is expected to be introduced by Rep. Beverly Wooley, although the rumors are flying that it’s Rep. Craddick’s baby, and has the push and backing of Governor Perry.

In the words of another concerned blogger:

“In other words, no amendments for teacher pay raises or health insurance or new textbooks and other non-essentials. I mean, I guess the real question is, is our legislators learning?”

Call your STATE lege rep, today, and tell them to vote NO for this rule.  Voting yes will jeapordize our children and their education for years to come.

Look at it this way, people….  By removing the statewide property tax - something they HAVE to do - they will be removing a significant amount of funding from our schools.  This whole session was called for education…

Folks, we’re 50 out of 50 for educational spending.  If we can’t afford to pay our teachers, and give them mandatory pay increases (yearly raises), or even cost of living increases, they’ll go somewhere else.  We need our teachers.  We need textbooks.  Kids need to be able to get to school.

Don’t be boneheaded about this and assume that Perry and the conservative lege know what they’re doing.  Make the call, and let them know how pissed off you are that nothing is being done about education.

Technorati Tags: Texas, Education, texas education reform