06.02.11

Education is a right in Texas, preserving the liberties and rights of people

Posted in Around The State, Bad Government Republicans, Commentary, Education, Public Schools at 11:13 am by wcnews

Here is what the Texas Constitution says about public education, Article 7, Section 1:

SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF SYSTEM OF PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.

For state Sen. Dan Patrick, aka “Texas Rush”, to call it an entitlement just shows how far to the right the GOP has gone. Let’s hope the people of Texas will wake up before education becomes only something rich people are able to afford in this state. Here’s how education will be treated in Rick Perry’s “Texas Century”, On school funding, ‘no guarantees’ anymore.

A long-standing pact between the State of Texas and its public schools could soon be null and void.

For about 60 years, Texas lawmakers have afforded public education a special status in terms of state funding.

Written into law is a guarantee that schools would get enough money to provide a basic, foundational education for each student. That obligation has dictated what the state has put into the Foundation School Program to cover growing enrollment and a changing student population.

But the school finance plan now under consideration by legislators wipes that guarantee out and makes future appropriations dependent upon how much money is available rather than how much is needed.

“The commitment to fund current law would cease to exist as a legal commitment,” said Lynn Moak, a school finance expert and consultant. “Public education has lost its special status.”

State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said the school finance change “is a true cut in an entitlement” and an essential cut at that.

Of course the GOP has long been after public education because they know, as the Texas Constitution says, “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people…” Therefore it should not surprise any Texan that as the GOP has come to dominate Texas government, education in Texas has become less of a priority. It’s almost like they don’t want and educated population so they can take away the liberties and rights or people.

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