If Texas children were important to elected officials, they would have arrived at a rational and swift resolution to financing public education and improving learning outcomes.

 

 

Several years ago Gov. Rick Perry ordered cutting social services and health care for children because the state was trying to balance the budget.  If you recall, Perry had the audacity and questionable leadership to send legislators an outline of a budget that included nothing but zeros in the dollars column. 

 

Meanwhile, under public pressure and during the last election year, Perry finally reinstated some of the dollars previously taken away from these children's programs and then took the credit for adding dollars to those needed programs.  Whatta guy!

 

Recklessly, the state continues to focus on children passing inconsequential exams (e.g., the TAKS) as the means to gauge student knowledge.  If we really care about our children here in Texas, we'd instead promote the effective process of learning, to teach children how to learn for themselves, rather than to teach them to learn for one major exam that does little to enhance or improve their education and learning sustenance.  In essence, we need to teach our children how to become productive members of our society.  Instead, we have placed this urgent priority on some back-burner.

 

External special interests have combated that effort during that time period because elected officials have permitted it. 

 

Quite frankly, groups and individuals like multi-millionaire James Leininger (who virtually cares only for a voucher program), Bill Hammond, head of Texas Association of Business (who promoted increasing class size to save on teachers' salaries), long-time Chair of various Committees on Public Education Rep. Kent Grusendorf (who finally lost his reelection bid because voters got hip to his lackluster leadership), Speaker Tom Craddick who keeps appointing the same deadwood individuals on these committees, and finally, Gov. Rick Perry who could push for an immediate resolution to ANY issue if he wanted to.

 

By now it should be clear that our state government is inundated with corruptive influences who do NOT place Texas children at the top of the priority list.

 

Children are a state's most important resource because they are our future. 

 

To discard their 1 educational needs is a vile, contemptible and irresponsible action perpetrated by those officials elected by the people of Texas to provide the education, services, programs, financing and activities that benefit the community at-large. 

 

Currently, Texas is near the bottom of the national list of providing our children with their educational and health needs.  We should all be VERY ashamed of this and we need to act on initiating positive change. 

 

The best way to get Texas back on-track and to serve our children properly is to vote-out all lackluster special interest officials in the next several elections --- that includes from the governor on down-the-line!