Redistricting in Texas

Michelle Lee talks about the recent redistricting crisis in an article on her blog, The Blue State Special. She makes the point that while the state’s population is growing and diversifying , the largely Republican legislature is fighting to solidify and unify its presence in the Legislature and Senate by an unfair redistricting process, in effect minimizing the chances of Democratic and ethnically diverse candidates from having a fair chance at competing.

Redistricting has always been a sore spot in Texas, especially as Republicans have continued to make headway in elections against Democratic candidates, including incumbents. A news report by the Texas Tribune explains that while the issue has been temporarily resolved, the fact that this resolution led to a stronger suit for several Democratic candidates in the upcoming 2012 elections, has led Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot to appeal to the Supreme Court on behalf of Gov. Perry to repeal the decision. The case is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. As Michelle Lee points out in her article, this is primarily a power struggle. Recent changes to population demographics have led the Democratic party to gain a small advantage in some areas, the GOP won’t stand for this encroachment on their power. The federal judges that created the new, possibly temporary, redistricting plan have argued that their map represents the “interest of the collective public good, as opposed to the interests of any political party or particular group of people.” Seeing as the population of Hispanics in Texas has grown by 2.8 million, and African Americans by 522, 570 in Texas over the past decade, as compared to a growth of only 465,000 for Anglos, and knowing that statistically the Hispanic and African American populations have generally been known to vote more often for Democratic candidates than Republican, I feel that the map that has been redrawn, providing some advantage to Democrats in certain areas, can only be fair and I would urge the Supreme Court to uphold a unbiased decision by federal judges, as opposed to a map drawn up by Texas GOP politicians who cannot help but be biased in their hopes for redistricting and consolidation of their power.

Closing the Gap in Public Education Spending

The 1836 Texas Declaration of Independence lists Mexico’s failure “to establish any public system of education” as one of the reasons for declaring independence and establishing a new government entity. In 1845 the state constitution provided that one-tenth of the annual state tax revenue be set aside as a perpetual fund to support free public schools. Obviously, education has been an important and pressing issue in the mind of Texans since our independence as a nation and later our admission into statehood. It seems strange then that despite protests from teachers and Texans, cuts to education spending are eating at the heart of our public education system. According to a recent Texas Tribune article, a 2011 poll of Texas educators found that 92% said that their district had eliminated positions – most reported between 10 and 50. 79% reported cuts to student programs, including pre-K, special education, electives, and athletics. 87% said that class sizes had increased at both the elementary and secondary level.

The Texas population has grown more rapidly than that of the U.S. has a whole in every decade since 1850. This is of course a benefit to the state, as a young population is a more effective work force, but it also means that we must be ever more cautious in ensuring that the education system provided for this burgeoning population must be adequate and up to the task. According to a report by the Texas Legislative Study Group, published after the recent 82^nd Legislature, our state (in comparison with others) currently ranks 45^th in scholastic assessment scores (SATs) and 50^th in the percent of the population 25 and older with a high school diploma. We also rank 43^rd in high school graduation rates. Not surprisingly, Texas also ranks 44^th in state and local expenditures per pupil in public schools. The correlation is obvious. How can we expect greatness of our state, and of our children, if we are not providing the resources?

According to the 2008 Texas Comptroller Susan Comb’s special report “Texas Works: Training and Education for All Texans,” official Texas population projections point to a less educated work force if the state continues on its current path. Former Comptroller and Austin mayor, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, once said, “Nothing is more important than education. Our state’s future tax base and fiscal well-being depend directly on a highly educated workforce.” Texas is in some ways facing a financial crisis, it’s true; however, continuing to cut education spending would be, in my opinion, penny wise and pound foolish and a cowardly thing for any Legislature or Governor to do. Pleasing crowds now by decreasing state spending, while passing the problem down to future decision-makers, is what has landed us in the dire emergency facing our system of state public education. I urge Texans to petition for reforms in education spending and policies. Closing the gap in our public education policies and funding must be number one priority if we want to ensure the success of our children in the future and guarantee our prosperity as a state.

Appreciation for the Spouses of Our Veterans

Josh Coffman, in his blog The Eyes of Texas, argues for a proposed amendment to the Texas constitution that would allow for the surviving spouses of 100% disabled veterans who have passed away, to continue to receive a homestead tax exemption. Currently the law extends to completely disabled veterans, but not to their spouses in the event of death. Coffman presents a convincing and moving argument that this courtesy should be extended to the spouses of our veterans as well: the wives and husbands that inevitably are faced with the care of their disabled veteran spouses, deserve all of the appreciation that we can bestow upon them and more. The argument he presents is simple and difficult to disagree with: ensuring that the spouse of a deceased disabled veteran continues to receive exemption from homestead taxes is the right thing to do, regardless of political stance.

How can this simple statement be contested? These disabled veterans, men and women, have given up months and years of their lives in service to our country and were rewarded with injuries that would haunt them the rest of their lives. Their spouses have raised children alone, worried about their wives and husbands at home alone, and unfortunately have had many of their worries realized as their husbands and wives have returned home injured and disabled. When these veterans return home, the spouses are the ones who continue to raise children alone, along with caring for and assisting their disabled spouse. These spouses - husbands and wives - are heroes and deserve every bit of our respect and appreciation. This is the least in probably a long list of things the state government should implement to ensure the care of veterans and their spouses and families and I, for one, fully support any steps in the right direction. The vote was cast on November 8^th and the outcome should be announced shortly.

AISD Joins School Districts in Litigation Against the State of Texas

On Monday, October 24th, the Austin Independent School District approved the recommendation to join a lawsuit being filed by a group of school districts against the state of Texas. The unanimous vote by the school board puts the AISD in a group with more than 150 other school districts in the state of Texas which are jointly filing several different lawsuits in an effort to persuade the Legislature to overhaul the state school finance system and provide the funding the schools need to provide an adequate education to the students which they serve, as well as change the methods by which the schools receive funding, which some have deemed unconstitutional.

These lawsuits are varied but seem to highlight three main claims or complaints:

1) School Funding is Inadequate. In the midst of the school funding crisis earlier this year, after the Legislature cut billions to the education budget, school districts were faced with letting go thousands of teachers and staff. Austin alone was forced to terminate more than 1000 jobs within the school system, prompting a crisis which has now culminated in this lawsuit which some say may be the only way of affecting a change within the Legislature.

2) The Current System is Unconstitutional. The school boards claim that the current system amounts to a statewide property tax, which is unconstitutional.

3) School Funding Distribution is Arbitrary. Claims have been made that wealthier districts have been less affected by the substantial educational budget cuts of the recent 82^nd Legislature, and that the way the funding for schools is raised and distributed is not clear cut or standardized. For example, an article in the Statesman states that the Jarrell school district in Williamson County has $6490 to spend per student this year, whereas nearby Granger, which taxes its property owners at the same rate, has $1447 less per student. Granger is among the school districts filing lawsuits against the state of Texas.

I, for one, fully support the school districts in their effort to reform the state school finance system. The Texas Constitution requires that the Legislature provide an “efficient system of free public schools,” a requirement that is obviously not being met, as is evidenced by the growing number of school districts showing their dissatisfaction through the pursuit of litigation. As the fastest growing state in the U.S., the emphasis we place on education is going to determine our future and success as a state, and as a nation. The equality of opportunity we offer the children born into our state will be a huge factor in determining their success, their contribution to society, and their initiative and industry. These children are the future of our state; we should be doing everything in our power to ensure their success by supplying the tools and finances their educators need to be facilitators in their lives, providing them with every opportunity we would wish for in our own children’s lives. All I can say is that I wish the Legislature had realized this before so as to avoid the no doubt hundreds of millions of dollars in lawyers' fees and man-hours which I can guarantee will be spent on the lawsuits now being filed.