By Barry Curtis
As if it was a soft breeze over the Texas landscape the once lauded Texas teacher incentive program faded into the dusk.
We conservatives hailed this as the future of educational pay in this country. Nearly half of Texas teachers some 180 thousand educators received bonuses under the teacher incentive pay plan over two years ago.
Come on conservatives we can do better! In 2011 the Texas state legislature voted massive funding cuts to the merit pay program. This year’s funding however has put the nail in the coffin of this one time cutting edge approach. The budget fell from an all-time high of $392 million to some $24 million dollars this year. The funding to bonuses was cut 90%
Come on conservatives we can do better! The average teacher salary in Texas is $48,110.00 a year. The national average for teacher pay is $56,383. We conservatives have a right to our own opinions but not our own set of facts! The facts are clear my conservative brethren we have failed our teachers!
Come on conservatives we can do better! Texas routinely ends up on the bottom of the nation’s educational scales. Texas now ranks 44th in graduation rates. Frankly we get a 44th ranking instead of the actual 50th ranking we deserve because the national studies don’t take into account the dropout rate amongst Texas teens. According to the Dallas morning news; “Texas has dropped to 49th in spending per pupil and is now more than $3,000 below the U.S. average — or about $66,000 less per elementary classroom — according to new comparisons by the National Education Association.” The report went on to say “Texas schools are spending $8,400 per student in the current school year, well under the national average of $11,455. Only Arizona and Nevada spend less among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.”
Conservatives we can do better! It’s clear that the local school systems can do a more efficient job of running their respective districts. Oversized administrative staff, inflated salaries of principles and upper level educational employees can be dealt with. However no amount of cutting will translate into competent teachers, a vigorous curriculum and a motivated staff like a concerted bipartisan approach to education in Texas.
Conservatives we must do better! We don’t have to look far to see our needs and challenges. Take a glance at the high tech companies that litter the landscape of Austin Texas. Take a gander at the amazing cutting edge medical capabilities of U T South Western and Houston medical center. What will NASA look like in Houston without an educated base? I shudder to think about the future of the financial power base of Dallas without an educated populous in Texas.
Conservatives we can be just as well served in the classroom as well as the boardroom.
The Curtis report is available at www.thecurtisreport.com
