Tag Archives: schools

Two more things you can do for public schools

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the three things I mentioned on Sunday and the live HISD TV show tonight at 6:30 about the budget, here are two more things to put on your agenda for the public schools. First, via the HISD … Continue reading →

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Interview with Chris Barbic

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Most of what we’ve talked about regarding the budget and the cuts that would result from it has to do with the public schools. But in the background of all this is charter schools, which will also be affected by … Continue reading →

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House repeals Doggett Amendment

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This may be a partial answer to my earlier question about the status of the $830 million in federal education funds that await Texas if Governor Perry will attest that they will be actually spent on education. In the latest … Continue reading →

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Is it time for a statewide property tax?

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. State Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, on Tuesday breathed some new life into a proposal to enact a statewide school property tax to address Texas’ persistent education funding woes. “We’ve never made a change in the school finance system without … Continue reading →

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Three things you can do to help save Texas public schools

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

1. First and foremost, make sure you understand the scope of the issue and how it will affect you. Here’s an email that was sent out by the Spring Branch ISD to its parents: Why should you care about the … Continue reading →

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Rural school districts prepare for the worst

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have very mixed emotions reading a story like this. For the residents of [the] tiny West Texas farming community [of Miles], the school district is central to their identity, history and way of life. “There’s a wonderful feel about … Continue reading →

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Do we now expect to get those federal education dollars?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that last year, Congress passed a supplemental appropriations bill that included $830 million in education funds for Texas, but which came with the requirement that Texas maintain its spending levels on education for the next three fiscal … Continue reading →

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One Republican for the Rainy Day Fund

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Kevin Eltife says what I suspect more than a few Republican legislators are thinking. “We have to find more revenue,” the former Tyler mayor and senator of seven years said [Thursday] morning during a committee hearing. “It’s insane … Continue reading →

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Walle files bills to address school ticketing

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago I noted a Texas Appleseed report that discussed an increase in “Class C misdemeanor ticketing and arrest of students for low-level, non-violent behavior that historically has been handled at the school level”, which it believes … Continue reading →

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The Trib talks to Rob Eissler

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here are a few brief video clips from the Texas Tribune conversation with State Rep. Rob Eissler, who is the House Public Education Committee chair. The full audio is here. Eissler, who believes the Rainy Day Fund will at least … Continue reading →

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The California view of Texas’ budget situation

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I figure the folks at the LA Times enjoyed themselves writing this story. Texas Gov. Rick Perry delights in telling tales of his California “hunting trips” — hunting for businesses ready to flee the Golden State. But the latest budget … Continue reading →

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Is this finally the end of steroid testing?

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I hope so, but the fight is far from over. In 2008, Texas became the third state to begin steroid testing, setting up a massive $6 million program. Every one of the state’s 700,000-plus public school athletes — from freshmen … Continue reading →

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School districts begin preparing for the inevitable

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If nothing else, we have a clear winner in the furloughs versus layoffs debate. School superintendents want more freedom in determining class sizes and permission to cut employee pay or to furlough teachers and other district employees, which school boards … Continue reading →

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Superintendents speak out against school funding cuts

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More of this, please. Speaking at a press conference during the Texas Association of School Administrators’ Midwinter Conference, superintendents and trustees urged the Legislature to use the Rainy Day Fund and search for new revenue through fees instead of the … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, Pre-K

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t need these things in the Century of Texas. Just how important is full-day pre-kindergarten for the state’s youngest and most disadvantaged kids? Is it more important than after-school tutoring? Than canceling music and art classes? As they brace … Continue reading →

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Furloughs or layoffs?

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe instead of firing 100,000 teachers, it would be somewhat less awful to allow for furloughs and salary cuts instead. “One of those burdens that we have placed on our school districts is that they cannot decrease your salary. They … Continue reading →

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Castro gets involved with school politics

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This will be interesting to watch. Mayor Julián Castro will take an active role in local school board elections and superintendent appointments, he said in an interview Saturday outside SA2020’s final community workshop, one in which education was heralded as … Continue reading →

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What the funding cuts to public education will mean to your school district

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Read this and see. Summary of HB 1 (Public Education Reductions) The House introduced its initial version of the General Appropriations Act (House Bill 1) for the 2012-13 biennium on Wednesday, January 19. While it is the first draft of … Continue reading →

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You know that old story about the frog and the scorpion?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Speak South Texas, possibly the most ludicrous bemoaning of the Pitts budget of them all: South Texas Republicans are voicing their opposition and concern to the proposed cuts. Valley Republican Aaron Peña was among the first, telling KURV Radio’s Daily Report with Colonel … Continue reading →

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Still more on magnet schools

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So what do we know about HISD’s magnet schools and that consultant’s report that recommended some hefty changes to them? Well, other than the consultants themselves, no one likes the report very much. The message was clear at Lamar High … Continue reading →

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Cuts here mean hikes there

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The only problem with this AP story is the headline, “Texas budget cuts may shift burden to locals”. There’s no “may” about it – the Pitts budget would absolutely shift a huge burden to local governments. Cuts set off a … Continue reading →

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Voter ID 2011

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The debate is going on in the Senate today over voter ID – it will be taken up by the House later, after committee hearings that are sure to be a freak show. You can follow the ins and outs … Continue reading →

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Senate budget pretty much the same as the House budget

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There had been some talk that the initial Senate budget would be a little less harsh than the initial House budget, on the grounds that the Senate budget would at least use some of the Rainy Day fund, but that … Continue reading →

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What school districts may do to respond to the budget cuts

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They may raise taxes: Some school officials also are considering even more unpopular options – increasing property tax rates or eliminating special tax breaks. In some cases, even those moves aren’t expected to raise enough money to plug the worst-case … Continue reading →

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The Pitts budget

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is, and if it is a shock to you, you haven’t been paying attention. The House’s starting-point budget proposal would provide for a total budget of $156.4 billion in state and federal money, a decrease of $31.1 billion, … Continue reading →

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More on the magnet schools report

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess it’s just as well that I never made it all the way through that audit on HISD’s magnet schools, because it seems that neither Superintendent Terry Grier nor the Board of Trustees are all that wedded to it. … Continue reading →

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This is your government on dogma

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We won’t get Jim Pitts’ bare bones budget outline till late tonight, so as not to be a buzzkill on the Perry coronation inauguration. We did, however, get an opening bid from the ideological purists, and while it’s not worth … Continue reading →

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Too many tickets

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Appleseed, via Grits. Class C Ticketing, Arrest of Youth at School is Introducing Thousands to Justice System, Says New Appleseed Report Schools Should Follow Lead of Juvenile Justice Agencies: Restrict Pepper Spray, Taser Use Austin, TX. – A … Continue reading →

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What school districts have to look forward to

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio: The San Antonio Independent School District is bracing for $33 million to $55 million in cuts for the coming fiscal year, due mainly to the state budget shortfall. The trustees Tuesday night discussed options to reduce costs … Continue reading →

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If class size doesn’t matter…

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

…then why do private schools boast about their small classes and low student-teacher ratios? That’s the question former Lite Guv and State Sen. Bill Ratliff asks in the Chron. When confronted with public decision-making, many people find it instructive to … Continue reading →

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The state of school food

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bettina has a feature story in Houston Family magazine about the current state of school food, which takes into account recently passed legislation by Congress and what’s going on in HISD. She also has a report from an HISD “Nutrition … Continue reading →

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A few thoughts from Opening Day

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few random bits from today’s festivities… – In the end and despite the teabagger footstomping, the Speaker’s Race turned out to be a big nothingburger, which was what most rational people expected all along. There were a few … Continue reading →

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The pushback on class size limits

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN continues its commendable work on the upcoming legislative fight over class size limits by writing about the skeptics of smaller class sizes. The most comprehensive assessment dates back just as far as the Texas law, to a four-year … Continue reading →

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Still more on class size limits

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Real good article in the Press about class size limits and the possible effects of raising them, which I’ve written about before. A couple of points: A famous education study done in Tennessee in the 1980s shows class size matters. … Continue reading →

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