The school districts will lose $500 in funding per student which will result in more layoffs while the universities have had their budgets for the Texas grant scholarships cut by the equivalent of 30,000 students statewide.
Sen. Lucio states that "The budget is essentially fake because of the way it is funded." His example is the state government's "effort" to reduce spending on Medicaid. The state's leadership underestimated how much money the program would cost over the next two years. They were off by more than $4 billion dollars! Additionally, the budget defers payments to schools from this biennium to the next which means that when the legislature reconvenes in 2013, lawmakers will have a multi-billion dollar IOU to take care of before they can begin to write the 2014-15 budget.
Sen. Lucio continues to say that Texas' state budget should be based on sound financial principles, caring for the vulnerable and investing in our future. He states that the combination of gimmicks and cuts means that the current budget is more trick than treat.
I have to agree with Sen. Lucio argument. The state has cut more than $6 billion in education which does not seem like a sound financial investment. The leadership in Texas government should be focused on the people they serve which is all of us. We all want better public education and cutting funds from this sector is unacceptable. The budget cuts from education has forced many layoffs which does nothing but hurt the situation more. Texas government should invest in the future of their citizens and the first step in doing so is providing children of a quality education. I also agreed with Sen. Lucio's comment in which he stated that the best thing we could do now is to vote. That is the only way we can start to make a change. It isn't going to be a quick and easy change but we have to start somewhere. Voting, even though I have not voted ever in my life, seems like the only move we can make to start changing the current situation.
Out of ideas? Try the Texas state budget on for size this Halloween.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary that "Affairs of the city" wrote on was very intriguing. Knowing that not only does the daily citizen think that the way things are going with the budget cut is being badly handled, but also reading that the Senator, Lucio, feels the same way about the situation lets us all know that we need to elect the best candidate to office which means coming to an agreement for our children.
It seems as though these issues of "cutting $1 billion in higher education, $4 billion in public education, and more than $6 billion in reduced funding to Health and Human Services," may not be the smartest move for our future pupils. This means that "$500 in funding per student which the school district will lose resulting in move layoffs while the universities have had their budgets for the Texas grant Scholarships cut by equivalent of 30,000 students statewide.
These are definitely the wrong moves to make in my opinion because as we look at were we stand as a nation in education we'll see that our country is at a ranking of 500 out of 1000 which shouldn't at be all right for any parent. If your one that knows how to read between the line this is possibly what's understood from this situation, one; we're just hiring anyone who has some experience and will take the job as our teachers, two; our kids aren't getting the proper education that is needed, and three; it'll be quite difficult for any child in their future, because education is key and success comes after.
So as "Affairs of the city" said, voting is the only way to break free from this bad view of the future. It's time to invest in our future as a nation and start to make a change by voting for those who want the best out of the investment.