Regarding House Bill 2
Given the overwhelming opposition to HB 2, you would think this vote would be a
slam dunk NO, but it isn't. At this time we do not yet have 76 confirmed votes
against the bill. Many reps are still "evaluating" information and/or hoping that
amendments will pass that will fix some of the problems. Behind the scenes, the
Speaker has been putting intense pressure on republican House members who have not
yet said they are for the bill to vote with him on HB 2. The Governor has also
been pushing for passage though he has been saying the bill is "a good starting
point" and "we need to move the process along."
We expect several hundred amendments to be filed by 9:00 am Monday morning, and the
Democrats will file a complete substitute to the bill. We need to generate
another 500 phone calls between now and 10 am Tuesday morning. You might want to
revisit this site to find out what district represents
you...http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm*-----------The following is some
news from around the state."I haven't heard a lot of folks supporting it, other
than the ones that wrote it," said Republican Rep. Scott Campbell, who represents a
four-county district surrounding San Angelo. "It just breaks your heart because
people have put in so much time and we still don't have anything."
AP Story*Some Rural republicans object to education plan
That this is the best the House could do on the No. 1 issue facing this year's
Legislature is, to say the least, disappointing.
Editorial, San Antonio Express NewsYou know a bill is bad when teachers, school
boards, school administrators and PTAs * groups that have a hard time agreeing on
anything * all oppose it.
Editorial, Austin American Statesman
State Rep. Tommy Merritt said Friday that he will vote against the public school
finance reform bill scheduled to be presented Monday to the Legislature in Austin.
Too many teachers have told him they are against it, the Longview Republican said.
Longview News Journal
"You can never spend enough to satisfy all the big spenders," said association
president Bill Hammond, referring to complaints from superintendents. "And even if
we did, they would be back here in two years asking for more. They want a blank
check at taxpayers' expense.
House bill is no fix, school officials say, Dallas Morning News
*Groups representing both high-wealth and low-wealth school districts are lining up
against the Texas House's funding bill. Now business leaders need to join that
line. An alliance between educators and executives could stare down this
insufficient bill.
Editorial, Dallas Morning News
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Not familiar with HB2?
Go to
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/
put in 2005 leg. session, HB2
It is miles and miles long as it concerns ed. finance also.
Here are some highlights.
Here are key points made in against HB 2 on the Web site:
--Woefully inadequate funding. HB 2 would not even provide enough money to undo
the more than $3 billion in education cuts last session, let alone the added $5
billion a year our schools need to comply with all the requirements and achievement
goals in state law.
-- "Merit pay" instead of a teacher pay raise. HB 2 would not provide an
across-the-board pay raise for teachers, which would help recruit and keep the
highly qualified teachers our students require. Instead, HB 2 offers arbitrary
"merit pay" schemes that would leave the vast majority of educators empty-handed
despite their effective contributions to student achievement.
--Less money for students with high needs. HB 2 would shortchange funding for
students with the greatest challenges to overcome, such as those with limited
English proficiency and those from low-income households.
--Pay cut for support personnel. HB 2 would break the legislature's promise to
restore the full $1,000 health-care supplement for all school employees that was
cut last session. HB 2 actually would repeal that commitment! Instead of getting
the $1,000 back, some 300,000 dedicated school employees would see another $500
chopped from the paychecks.
--Punishing success. HB 2 is filled with talk of performance incentives, but it
would create a strong performance disincentive, by exempting from state quality
safeguards any school or district rated "exemplary." In other words, as a "reward"
for excellent achievement, teachers and their students would lose safeguards like
class-size caps and planning and preparation periods that make such high
achievement possible in the first place.
Mary Croix Ludwick, Librarian
469-713-5950 K-5
Owen Elementary, Lewisville ISD (near Dallas, Texas)
ludwickm@lisd.net (school) ludwick@swbell.net (home)
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