Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State speech on Tuesday was part pep rally, part budget proposal, with a dash of national politics. And, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, Democrats weren’t charmed.
education
Posted in
Public Education
State Democrats Accuse Perry of “Ponzi Scheme”
State Democratic lawmakers responded to Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State address Tuesday, calling his budget proposals a “Ponzi scheme.”
Posted in
Higher Education
Paige & Spellings: The TT Interview
At a recent forum titled “Improving Productivity in Public Education,” former U.S. Secretaries of Education Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings under George W. Bush took time to discuss the state’s looming budget cuts, the Bush legacy, the Obama administration and what they believe needs to change in public education.
Posted in
Higher Education
Business: Hands Off Public Education
Lawmakers will soon take an ax to the state budget, but business leaders are hoping one big-ticket item will be spared. At its annual conference in Austin this week, the Texas Association of Business sounded warnings about potential cuts to public education. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The Trib staff on the sweeping cuts in the proposed House budget, Grissom on what’s lost and not found at the Department of Public Safety, Galbraith on the wind power conundrum, Hamilton on higher ed’s pessimistic budget outlook, Stiles and Swicegood debut an incredibly useful bill tracker app, Ramsey interviews Rick Perry on the cusp of his second decade as governor, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist’s quest for asylum in the U.S., Ramshaw on life expectancy along the border, M. Smith on the obstacles school districts face in laying off teachers and yours truly talks gambling and the Rainy Day Fund with state Rep. Jim Pitts: The best of our best from January 17 to 21, 2011.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
A Stiff Cocktail of Budget Cuts
The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that’s $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board.
Posted in
Economy
The Tenure Trap
Despite the budget crisis, thousands of Texas teachers know their jobs are safe. They possess a “continuing contract” — the public education equivalent of tenure. Many of the most senior educators are employed under these contracts, which may complicate the efforts of some districts to cut personnel costs.
Posted in
Economy
Democrats: “Dangerous” Cuts Ahead
Democratic state lawmakers warned Monday of the “dangerous” cuts to public and higher education that are likely as the Legislature prepares to address a massive budget shortfall.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Pomp, Circumstance, Consequences
The 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while it’s not as much fun as the circus — usually — it’s more important and does have its share of comedy and drama.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: The Bills So Far
A new word cloud visualizes the bills filed so far according to their Texas Legislative Council assigned categories. After education, which accounts for more than a quarter of the bills, the top categories are elections, criminal procedure, vehicles and traffic, and taxation.