2 weeks Ago
Recent news reveals that this school year half of the vacant positions in Texas public schools are being filled by unqualified individuals. It’s easy to see why. With a level of low unemployment, workers will naturally avoid low-paying, demanding jobs.
Starting in 2019, the state of Texas has failed to fund its public schools adequately. This year many school districts are running record deficits to educate their students. Last year, the state spent $20 billion dollars on a border wall, almost as much as it spent on public education, while Texas ranks 42nd in the nation in state spending for public education.
If we ranked that low in collegiate football standings, Texans would be outraged, and the people responsible, whether coaches or university administration, would be fired. For a number of years nationally some political movements have used defunding to try to “starve the “beast.” It seems in Texas, the “beast” is our children’s education.
Article VII of the Texas State Constitution states, “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.” Instead of upholding that duty, what we hear from our state leaders is a push to fund private charter schools while neglecting their constitutional mandate. I cannot understand why our leaders have chosen to defund public education.
I do understand, however, that an educated electorate is the foundation of any democracy. If our citizens are uneducated, they will neglect to vote or not be capable of sifting facts from the onslaught of misinformation they are inundated with so they can vote intelligently. God save Texas.
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