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Two major teachers' unions in Texas released comments yesterday about the $813 million appropriated for our schools, thanks to the hard work of Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
Linda Bridges, president of the 65,000-member Texas AFT (the statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers), released the following statement, urging Rick Perry to accept the money without delay (emphasis mine):
"With a new school year beginning this month for our budget-squeezed school districts and with more education job losses looming, Texas Gov. Rick Perry should do nothing to imperil the $830 million in federal aid for Texas public schools that won final passage in the U.S. House today.
"Misplaced partisanship and unfounded concerns about state prerogatives cannot be allowed to put this urgently needed assistance at risk. Our schoolchildren need to be the priority, and they need their teachers and school support staff in their classrooms, not on the unemployment lines.
"There is no excuse for rejecting this help for our schools, as Gov. Perry has threatened to do. Texas teachers and educational support employees call on the governor to rethink his stance on this issue and make sure that the aid flows to Texas school districts without delay."
A statement from Texas State Teachers Association President Rita Haecker praised Representative Lloyd Doggett and Congressional Democrats for doing right by Texas teachers:
"Texas educators say, 'Thank you!' With Texas' public schools already under-funded, and the Texas Legislature facing an $18 billion revenue shortfall next year, this extra money couldn't have come at a better time.
"Some teachers are losing their jobs. Others are faced with higher health care premiums to help school districts balance their budgets. It is time for Governor Perry and other Republican leaders, who have been hyperventilating over political hyperboles, to quit playing political games with Texas teachers and school kids.
"What the Doggett amendment is attempting to do is make it clear that Texas will use the federal funds in the way the bill intends them to be used - maintaining current programs, retaining current staff and, where possible, hiring additional staff to handle the still-growing Texas student population."
An estimated 1,000 to 2,000 Texas teachers lost their employment contracts this year. An additional, unknown number of teacher positions were lost to attrition amid a flurry of school district budget cuts throughout the state.
This funding will help prevent further job losses by educators, and help protect our kids' education. The children of Texas need to be our priority, to make sure we have a workforce able to innovate and compete for good jobs now and in the future. Education is the bedrock of our society, the foundation of the American dream.
The children of Texas--the future of Texas--are depending on our government to accept and utilize these funds as intended immediately. A quality education can't wait. |
