Burnt Orange Report

Perry to Call Special Session as Strayhorn Calls him a Failure

By Byron LaMasters

After ignoring the public education crisis in Texas during the 2003 legislative session, and then spending the rest of the year on Tom DeLay's redistricting adventure, Governor Perry has finally found time to try and solve our crisis in public education in Texas. The Austin American Statesman reports:

Gov. Rick Perry has told Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick that he will announce this week a special legislative session in mid-April to address school finance, sources told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The three Republican leaders have not reached an agreement on how to overhaul the share-the-wealth system of funding public education, despite Perry's insistence that he would call the session once a consensus has emerged.

Two days have been mentioned as possible start dates, April 12 or April 19, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It's about time. Rick Perry and the Republican leadership should have focused on this a year ago, but instead saw redistricting as a more important issue.

It's not only Democrats who are unhappy, though. Republican Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn yesterday said that it's time for new leadership in Austin. The Houston Chronicle reports:

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn on Wednesday said it may be time for new leadership in Texas as she blasted Gov. Rick Perry for failing Texas children on two fronts -- health care and school funding.

"It's time to stop the hemorrhaging. It's time to put children first," said Strayhorn in a speech to county administrators.

Strayhorn said Perry should call lawmakers into a special session to address school finance and to use $583 million in unbudgeted funds to restore health care cuts made during the 2003 session. She noted that since September, 119,000 children have lost their coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Plan and that a new asset test being considered by the Health and Human Services Commission could throw thousands more off the program.

"It is unconscionable that we're dead last in percent of children on health insurance," said Strayhorn.

She criticized Perry, saying he let months of inactivity pass while the school system suffers.

"I say his learning curve should now be complete, and if not, we need new leadership willing not to delay, not to cajole, not to offer patchwork proposals packaged in lofty titles," said Strayhorn.

Strayhorn is a potential challenger to Perry in the 2006 Republican primary. She refused to discuss the election and said she is focused on being comptroller.

Texas is last or near last in children's health insurance and public education, and its getting worse because children are not a top priority of the Republican leadership. Some Republicans like Strayhorn understand this, and genuinely want to help children, but the core of the state GOP leadership (Perry, Dewhurst, Craddick, etc.) don't give one bit.