The Richardson City Council election has been consuming a lot of this blog's attention lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention to what our so-called representatives have been doing to us for us down in Austin. It's time to have a look.
State Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) gives us an eyewitness update on what our legislators are up to. That means Sen. John Carona and Rep. Angie Chen Button for me and maybe Rep. Stefani Carter, Kenneth Sheets, Will Hartnett or Van Taylor for some other Richardson area readers. Summary: The outlook is not good.
Richardson ISD trustee Kris Oliver has been following the proceedings, too, with an eye on the impact on the RISD schools. One of his comments: "Really? We are working like mad to avoid laying off teachers, and the TX House reduces taxes on chewing tobacco."
After the jump, back to Sen. Watson's update.
Senator Kirk Watson:
"The big news of last week on the Senate side is that the chamber passed its lousy budget -- one that contains no significant reforms in Texas' tainted finances and will punish school kids, teachers and hospitals.
..."As I and many others have noted, the lone selling point for this budget seems to be that it's better than the version put forward by the Texas House of Representatives, which takes most of the things that the Senate budget would hurt -- and hurts them even worse.
..."The final details of the budget will be hammered out, largely behind closed doors, over the next couple of weeks. Rest assured that barring some sort of miracle, the final version brought forward will be even tougher on school kids, parents, universities, hospitals or the uninsured than the Senate version.
"And then legislators will vote, and there's a good chance the legislature will dust itself off, catch its breath, and head home to sleep it off. But middle-class Texans will be left to deal with the effects. And I really am concerned the hurting isn't going to stop; it's just begun."
Sen. Watson's full report can be read here.
Given the current cast of characters in the legislature, I doubt there's anything at all that can be done to avoid the coming disaster. Worse, this legislature has done nothing to correct the structural nature of the deficit that will make this a rolling disaster, year after year. Unless the cast of characters in Austin is changed, the hurting won't stop.
Rodger Jones of The Dallas Morning News asked area lawmakers what they "are telling their constituents who are concerned about the damage that the state budget is doing to public education." Jones heard from four of them, Angie Chen Button, Kenneth Sheets, Will Hartnett and Van Taylor. Stefani Carter, after stiffing schools, stiffed the public, too, failing to respond by deadline. The others' answers can be read here.
Angie Chen Button says, "the problem is that the size of the pie has gotten smaller due to the economic downturn." In fact, the size of the pie has gotten smaller in large part due to the state legislature cutting property taxes more than the new business activity tax raised. This was foreseen well before the economic downturn even started. But none of that matters to Chen Button anyway, as she claims that "spending more money on education does not translate to better educational attainment and improved learning." Shorter Chen Button: "We don't have enough money, I don't want to admit the role the legislature played in that, and it doesn't matter because I wouldn't spend more money on education anyway." To paraphrase a famous newspaper headline: "Angie Chen Button to Schools: Drop Dead."
Cutting funds for schools, nursing homes, children's health care, etc., isn't the only thing keeping our so-called representatives in Austin busy. They are also enacting laws that cripple the rights of cities to control gas companies' pipeline and drilling locations within their own city boundaries. In case you haven't been reading the news lately, here's the reason why cities might be concerned about gas companies drilling in urban areas: "Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking." Don't worry, right? Let 'em drill here. We get our drinking water from reservoirs outside city limits. Right.
On this issue, North Texas's own Rep. Stefani Carter (R-Bob Perry) is firmly on the side of the drillers: "Local lawmaker accused of cozying up to gas industry." To paraphrase a famous newspaper headline: "Stefani Carter to Cities: Drop Dead."
As Sen. Watson says, "It'll feel better when it stops hurting."
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Stefani Carter eventually responded to Rodger Jones' question. You can read her response here. She blames school funding shortfalls on 'inefficiency in our public school system' and high superintendent salaries. In short: 'Stefani Carter to Schools: Drop Dead.'
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