Getting ready for the Save Texas Schools rally

This needs to be big.

Teachers, parents and school district employees will head by the thousands to the state Capitol over Spring Break for two rallies, hoping to show lawmakers what’s at stake with budget cuts to education.

They’re ready to flex their political muscle over the possible loss of between 80,000 and 100,000 jobs in public school districts statewide, according to estimates from public policy and school finance groups.

“The goal is to get legislators, who are the only ones right now (who) can stop this, to see us as human beings and not just numbers,” said Jodi Ingersoll, a Spanish teacher at Johnson High School who is planning to attend both rallies.

Ingersoll, 29, is a lead organizer in San Antonio for the Save Texas Schools March & Rally on Saturday, the first of the two scheduled as part of Spring Break, which is March 14 to 18.

[…]

As of last week, at least 5,000 people statewide had signed up to attend one or both rallies, with more expected.

I sure hope a lot more than that eventually attend. I wish I could be there but my schedule doesn’t allow it. If you can make it, please do so. Here’s the basic info again for the March 12 rally. If you need a little motivation, consider stuff like this.

“If you want to set up the state of Texas for failure with a less-educated work force and reduced average income, what the Legislature is considering doing in terms of cutting education is exactly the way you would go,” said Albert Cortez, an expert on minority education and director of policy for the San Antonio-based Intercultural Development and Research Association.

Students with limited English proficiency can prosper academically if they get specialized staff and specialized materials, Cortez said.

Over the past 10 years, the number of students with limited English proficiency has jumped to 815,998 from 555,334, according to the Texas Education Agency. The number of children from low-income families has skyrocketed to 2,848,067 from 1,955,012 during the same period.

Those students are more expensive to educate and failure often results in many dropping out of school, experts said.

It’s only our future that’s at stake, that and a whole lot of jobs in the here and now. Please make your voice heard while you still can.

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