Fort Bend ISD calls special board meeting to address personnel issues related to projected budget shortfalls
The Fort Bend ISD School Board has called a special meeting for 5 p.m. today to take action on the elimination of approximately 107 professional positions.
In announcing the meeting, the district said the action was necessary to help the district address a projected budget reduction from the state of up to $74 million.
To date, the district has received 316 resignations as a result of an early resignation incentive program approved by the board on March 7.
“These resignations have been steadily coming since March 8, and have greatly reduced the district’s need to eliminate positions. As the district learns a more exact amount of funding it will lose from the state, a number of other non-teaching positions will be reduced,” the district said in an announcement released early this afternoon. “The board will also be asked this evening to approve an increase in the number of personnel who can receive the early resignation incentive. It is important to note that over the next several weeks and into the summer, many staff members whose positions are being eliminated now may be hired back into the system as more vacancies are received.”
Last year, the district reduced 463 positions, but eventually 50 percent of the employees reduced were rehired into other positions as spots became available.
Good points all Mr. Magee. It was good to see you when you were on the board and didn’t simply go along with or rubber stamp every decision, much like Mr. Babb now and you didn’t leave when the budget started heading South. You left with a balanced budget and much less debt than we are currently facing. At least you know what you are talking about and not sticking your head in the sand as some do or believing the propaganda being manufactured by the central office. Kudos to you and the others that actually do your homework.
I have to agree with Stan and rcocheau, the district is incurring too much long-term debt and haven’t been paying it down and now the 53.5 million coming out of debt-service in the OPs budget is doing much to cause the mass lay-offs, even before the state cuts kick in. We need a new board (except one) and then a NEW fiscally conservative superintendent that doesn’t give a flip about non-campus based building projects that incur this sort of debt and waste. Schools are for learning not frivolous pork barrel projects at our expense.
FBISD Total Revenue for each of year since 2006:
2006 – $521.58 Million
2007 – $549.91 Million
2008 – $568.19 Million
2009 – $591.69 Million
***2010 – $610.19 million***
PS I find the use of playing victim and throwing bible passages out in poor taste, especially in this case. I know many church goers who play that game. Elected officials are public employees and servants, not puppets for the puppet masters on their campaign finance reports. Public deception is not appreciated at any level. If we must hide behind bible passages, then here is one for ANY elected official engaging in the public deception game:
“(II Timothy 1:7) 7 For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”
Sure, there are times that I get angry or disappointed regarding acts of other folks’ human failings and a lacking area needing to be improved upon. However, I can also become angry and disappointed in myself for my human failings and, thus, strive to become better than I was the day before. To that end, I always have room in my heart to forgive if someone opens up with old fashioned honesty to state his/her case offering reasons of reasonability. Moreover, I realize I do not nor can afford to live in a glass class due to not being a human being of perfection to be able to occupy a glass house; maybe some of you can and do.
Since, I have lived to an age of maturity, I, now; know that I have become a better person as I progressively mature with age. I’m better than I was at age 22 or 30; or 40 & 45 or 50; etc. Certainly, I have become more diplomatic.
Some of you may not know this but, God is a jealous God; he does not take kindly with human beings competing with him to do his job by bestowing judgment onto other human begins. God does not request or engage collaborative with others who try to play God to judge other human being to the deepen degree as the judgment visited upon the Reynolds. The educator, the teacher, in me tends to get riled whenever the business of ganging up on someone occurs; plus, to dig so very personal into someone else’s business is tasteless and extremely disrespectful. Do unto to others as you would want to be treated is my motto.
No need to worry; trust me, no one gets away with anything in this life. God has the final say and judgment regarding all human beings.
Be patience and still: If you sit by the riverbank long enough the faces of your enemies will come floating by.
All records are pre-record in local websites for facts and answers about any questions tobe proven for the truth tobe viewed. Proverbs 19;22
Please watch http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8055170
I love the reaction of the mom in the interview.
Well, well, I see Broxson is at it again. Just like he did on KTRH radio a year or so ago: he blames the state and federal government for all the problems. He never has accepted the responsibility, even when he was Board President, to cut the spending. He says he is a conservative but his actions are like a tax and spend liberal. He always delivered what Jenney wanted and, when the heat turned up in the kitchen, he left. How appropriate. As long as this district continues electing people who will not have the guts to say”no” on spending once in a while, the problems will continue, and teachers and students will reap the harms. To Ron Reynolds: why not just pay the fine and let the TEC sort things out and give you a refund? You are a big boy now and have plenty of money as a State Rep. And finally to Jonita: you don’t have to check your records; you didn’t vote because it wasn’t important to you. You see a chance to get a little power now and that is the only reason you are running. You didn’t care about kids for years when you did not vote and you don’t care now. Fess up and be truthful to those who do vote.
You can get the PAC report here:
http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/527/responsible-government-pac.asp
I would also suggest getting Mr. Reynold’s PAC report and TEC reports. I see a “blame game” pattern going on in these campaigns. Just search the races from last Nov. located here on FBN. Apparently Mr. Reynolds knew he had an opponent in that for over 9 months while denying it publically….looks like a pattern of deception that we see so often with too many of our elected officials. His voting pattern in the state legislature, as short as it is, demonstrates that his words and actions are not in sinc. He supported a bill with 70 other legislative members that pushes further “transfer fees” on homeowners in new developments, while some of this industries monies appear on some of his campaign finance & PAC reports (not to mention on his wifes report posted above. Is this an advocate of families and small business? To be fair he is accepting monies from some of the same contributors that give to his GOP counter-parts that he uses in his attacks here on this thread as he continues to campaign for his wife. MAYBE HE SHOULD LET HIS WIFE CAMPAIGN FOR HERSELF. I know for one I would tend to support her if he wasn’t involved and if she hadn’t taken money from companies directly benefiting from the district bond debt via land sales.
Now, if we look at the political rhetoric being bantered with in here we see one elected official using attacks on his opposing party members and then disingenuously claiming we “all need to work together”. I don’t see anyone else in here campaigning for a family member or evoking party, but yet he continues to use party and then contra-dict himself. I also found this about his family from the FB Independent. Apparently none of their children from their previous marriages attends FBISD schools and they had quite a few tax problems with their $500-600,000 Sienna home. In a separate thread a post will be added with Ms. Reynolds showing up on a developers PAC that has sold quite a bit of land to the school district (draw your own conclusions). Here is the FB Indep. piece:
“…Caldwell campaign has raised some questions about the suitability of Reynolds for the trustee position.
Reynolds has no children in the district and she did not vote in the school board election in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, according to the Caldwell campaign.
Reynolds said she could not readily confirm if she had voted or not and would have to check the records to respond.
In 2006, Reynolds did not pay the school tax in time and became delinquent and paid in June 2007.
Also, the Reynolds’ $500,000 home in Sienna Plantation is said to be under foreclosure.
Ron Reynolds, Reynolds husband, said Jonita’s ex-husband, was responsible for the tax problems…”
I think it is very childish to out posters on this site. If they wanted to use their real names, they would. Using anonymous names is allowed. I will not be voting for a candidate that has such immature behavior. Also, when I do decide who to vote for, I look at the circle of influence. If this is indeed the candidate’s husband posting real names on a public website, I cannot vote for his wife. I expect better behavior from all human beings but in particular; elected officials.
Yes, I agree, we need to keep the focus on the real problem which apparently isn’t throwing more money at the deep well of long-term debt that the current FBISD superintendent has not been managing. Remember we are the highest taxed county in the state of Texas according to the US Tax Foundation per median home value. 2/3rds of that comes from our school taxes. Our superintendent is using the current budget crisis and several insider politicians to point the finger at the current state budget problem and not accept responsibility for excessive long-term bond debt that is costing us $53,500,000+ each year just to service. This deep hole continues to grow as he spends millions on other none classroom based projects. For example, just 2 years ago he purchased a fleet of new buses and then cut the transportation budget by 20+ million. Are those new buses being used? As mentioned before we are spending more and having services being cut. This board voted to raise our property taxes 3 times already over the last 3 years and now Reynolds (with his supt. friend while he campaigns for his wife who is running for the BOT) is making the case for more, even though as noted earlier our revenues continue to go up as do our taxes:
FBISD Total Revenue for each of year since 2006:
2006 – $521.58 Million
2007 – $549.91 Million
2008 – $568.19 Million
2009 – $591.69 Million
2010 – $610.19 million
Educations accountability is in the hands of both the GOP republicans and Democrats parties, thats the reason they offer for being elected!
Its to help educational funds or leave behind by local and state party elected officials ?
ABC13 news message about Fort Bend Superintendent video(YouTube)!
Even though, I do not have a horse in this race, however, I thought Texas was a community property state????? Consequently, whether property is in both husband and wife’s name jointly; or husband’s name or the wife’s name singularly, they both share equality of ownership in a community property state. That is what defines community property in a community property state, correct?
Is this, or is this not, a community property state? Or are the rules applicable for everyone else in Texas and not applicable for the Reynolds?
I’m just trying to find out the true meaning of community property in a community property state. As well as, how does the rules to that accord differ and/or are applicable for the Reynolds?
Come on somebody talk to me. Please explain.
To Sugarland Watch a/k/a “Chris Calvin”
This is a diversion to try and turn the focus on me. You used these same tactics during the 2010 election cycle. However, this is nothing more than Chris Calvin a/k/a “Sugarland watch” attempt to discredit me. For the record, my wife and I pay our fair share of taxes. Moreover, I haven’t paid my ethics fines because of an appeal that is pending with the Texas Ethics Commission. My mother was critically ill and in ICU and I was fined for filing my campaign finance reports late. I filed an appeal and I’m waiting on a decision from the TEC.
Now, let’s get back to the business at hand. I will submit to you that Public Education is not a Democrat or a Republican issue. Public Education is a Fundamental issue and our Texas Constitution requires us to adequately fund public education for ALL children.
These draconian cuts to public education are not in the best interest of Fort Bend County nor Texas. Currently, Texas ranks 44th out of 50 states in education spending per pupil. The proposed budget cuts would make Texas dead last. I’m not advocating for FBISD nor any other individual school district. I’m a State Representative and my focus is on ALL of my constituents in Fort Bend County. Every school district in Texas will be adversely impacted by these budget cuts. In fact, over 100,000 teachers state wide could lose their jobs.
Extreme cuts to education threaten the future prosperity of our state. We have to make Texas school children a priority, therefore it is economically shortsighted to increase class sizes, fire teachers and underfund classrooms. Education is the key to innovation and the technology jobs of tomorrow will require students with a strong background in math and science to compete in the 21st Century global economy.
As usual Mr. Reynolds is continuing to point the finger at others rather than admit the facts. For one I’m not Calvin and by saying “SugarlandWatch” is, is an out and out lie. Actually it qualifies as defamation which means you are breaking the law again. Next you still haven’t addressed the fines or taxes you still owe the state or the hypocrisy of pointing the finger at the state when you aren’t paying your fair share.
By the way my is Joe and I WILL CONFRONT on this matter,and who this person you call me Chris Calvin!!!.Me I do not know this person is.
While doing a search back I find Ms. Reynolds first husband on the CAD tax reports but not her current husband, Ron. You are correct this is a community property state but I have no idea if that would apply in another divorce suit if his name is not on the tax rolls.
With all DUE respect your honor, shouldn’t our state legislatures pay their fair share of property taxes & fines like the rest of us are required by law to do? If you check the online appraisal figures with the county CAD, only your wife is listed for paying taxes on that property and you aren’t listed on any fort bend county homes. Also when I check the Texas Ethics Commission site it still lists you as owing the state a record (for our area) $12,000 dollars in fines for election law violations. ISN’T IT JUST A LITTLE BIT HYPOCRITICAL POINTING YOUR FINGER AT THE STATE WHEN YOU AREN’T PAYING YOUR FAIR SHARE MR. REYNOLDS? Now to be fair Charlie Howard is getting a huge exemption on his million dollar home and only paying about a quarter of its value, at least the last time I checked. Isn’t he a good friend of yours? Do you guys share these secrets? Oh, one more, before they redacted the current FBISD superintendents latest home purchase, it was listed at over 600,000+ but only appraised for tax purposes at half that value…..when are you guys going to start carrying your fair share of the load in taxes, rather than pointing the finger most of the time. PAY YOUR TAXES AND FINES MR. REYNOLDS! Then complain. ”
TEC
Reynolds Ronald E.
$12,000
6565 W. Loop S., Ste. 115, Bellaire, TX 77401-3505
Remind your luv ones, to pickup the cost, too prohibit being left behind soon!
Last year before the Board of Trustees entered into the budget process, I delivered a short statement about the coming financial crisis that would impact not only FBISD, but most of the growing school districts in the state. At the time, I was greeted with dissenting comments and expressions that this just wasn’t going to happen. In fact, one individual in the audience said he had been in the education business for a very long time, and he did not believe that school districts would be faced with the type of funding crisis we now face today. There are a lot of reasons school districts are in trouble. They include unfunded mandates by both the state and federal governments and a funding formula that is not balanced. If you add to this the loss of revenue due to the bad economy, it is pretty much crippling.
I see comments on this blog indicating that revenues in the district have grown over the past several years. This is not because the district is receiving new money. The district is growing, and the funding goes up by the number of new students that enter our schools. Before I left the Board of Trustees last year, I had several disturbing discussions with some key state legislators. In these conversations I was basically told that FBISD, and other districts needed to “fire some teachers and then we will consider some new funding for the schools.” This is, I believe a pervasive attitude among the leaders in the legislature, and it is harmful to our district, and more importantly the generation of children we are leaving behind by having to crowd classrooms and eliminate valuable programs.
I agree with many of you who are concerned and even angry about the situation the school district is facing, but the focus needs to be on those who represent us in Austin. The local school board is being rendered powerless by the regulations and controls that are put on them by state and federal regulations. We need to turn our focus to the elected officials in Washington and Austin and press them to make things right. FBISD has been cutting programs and costs for the past five years. In spite of this, we have continued to see significant gains across every sub-population in the district, and have even been designated as a “Recognized” school district. What is happening now is a shame. This school district is having to make decisions that should never be forced upon it as an entity, or us as taxpayers.
I salute Ron Reynolds for his efforts to protect the funding of our schools. I just wish that the political issues surrounding the education of our children would be dropped and legislators from both sides of the aisle would realize the importance of the education 80% of the children in this state.
I’m not buying your “we need more money to spend in Fort Bend” claims. Your student population from 2005 to 2009 (last year for which figures are posted on line) increased from 65,927 to 69,066. I’d say your growth has slowed considerably. Fort Bend grew by 865 students in 2006, 988 students in 2007, 727 students in 2008 and only 559 students in 2009–mirroring the slide in the economy.
At the same time your total revenue and the percentage provided by the state in 2006 was $520,234,058 with the State kicking in 32% of that; in 2007, the TR was $548,851,284 with 35% coming from the State; in 2008, the TR was $569,774,905 with 44% comiing from the State; and in 2009, the TR was $592,630,499 with 40% coming from the State.
Looks to me like Fort Bend has been doing just fine with their cut of the State pie, and especially so with your student population increases each year appearing to be on the decline. Surely a $22,855,594 increase from the state can’t be justified by an increase of just 559 students!
Your local school board is just like everyone else’s–unwilling to provide oversight to a spendthrift superintendent. Being incapable of saying no to runaway spending renders a sitting board worthless and in need of replacement.
Liberals always want more of someone else’s money to spend. Your superintendent is of the same ilk as our President. Send him a wake-up call.
To Luv one another as a team with same couples listed on the same page or list for FBISD taxes being paid, if any by united couples!
It’s good to see rcocheau cut through the political spin and propaganda coming our of one local state rep, which brings up another issue. I just finished checking the FBCAD website and found that Mr. Reynolds isn’t even listed as a property owner in the county he resides in (Sienna Plantation). His wife is, but he isn’t. This would appear to mean he his not paying property taxes, at least not under his own name and I further checked the Texas Ethics Commission delinquent payment lists and apparently his fines for campaign law violations have gone up to $12,000 from $11,500. So we are supposed to respect someone dogging the state for more money for schools when he appears to NOT be paying what he owes in fines and taxes. Not a good role model for our kids! And to be fair, one of his claimed close friends, Charlie Howard, has redacted his info but you can still get it by paying $2 at the clerks office, has a special exemption on his very expensive home in Sugar Land and is only paying about half of the market value on his home. One democrat and one republican. Also I read last week that superintendent was playing the same game with his new home in Ventian Estates, paying taxes on only have the market value, while the rest of us fight the CAD tooth and nail just to keep ours at a livable level. What is it with these public officials anyway? Are they above the law?
Now the real problem in our district which will be compounded by the states budget problem this year is the fact that our supt. has been running consecutive budget deficits since 2007 and is sitting on a massive reserve fund of 368 million but won’t use any of it to pay down the 1.5+ billion in long-term debt we have accumulated under him and now we face a second financial disaster with more teacher/staff RIFs. I won’t to know what the politicians and FBISD BOT candidates are going to do about it. I finished looking at the staged finger pointing.
The same thing that happened to the lottery has happened to the Post Office, The general fund has gotten all of both monies for many years.. One State general fund and the other Federal… For many years the PO was a money making part of the government and as it was not supposed to turn a profit, money was diverted to the general fund.. Now when the PO needs it, its gone ,,,LONG GONE…Same with the Lottery…Its gone, LONT GONE…
Corpate wealthfare; Do you pay any FBISD taxes? http://www.fbcad.org
I will pose the same question to you, Mr. Reynolds, that I did to Derron Patterson of the Sugar Land Democrats. With 58.3 percent of our revenue of $77.7 billion going to education, how much is enough? How much of our taxpayer dollars will it take to make it right? IMHO, the issue is not the amount of money that is allocated to education. It is how the funds are being spent and the fact that they are being spent on a broken model. Until we fix the model, we are simply throwing good money after bad. We must address the issue of accountability testing in our schools and what it has done to the quality of our educational system first. Our system has been completely and totally politicized and it has nearly destroyed it. I want the politicians out of the classroom and I want our teachers to be able to do what we hired them to do, to teach.
I ask you to please, while in Austin, look at the root cause of the problem, which is the model and get the word out. This is not just Rick Perry’s fault, this is not just Obama’s fault (although I sure would like to give him credit!) or yours or mine. It is OUR fault. We have let politicians run amuck for so long and spend us right into oblivion that they think it is their right to spend our money any way they like, that it does not come from us, the taxpayer. I hope that as an elected representative, you can help get the message to our legislature that the problem is the system. And that it is not fiscally responsible to keep throwing money at it and hope it gets better. If you need more data that supports this theory, please visit http://www.iSupportFBISD.org.
MOVEON.ORG to see who are paying federal taxes.
Rep. Reynolds,
Please quit grandstanding on this issue. You state that “For the record, in 2006, Gov. Rick Perry pushed through a tax swap that he said would better fund public education. Not only has that promise not proven true, but it actually drained money from schools, leaving the state with a permanent shortfall that has reached $5 billion a year”
FBISD Total Revenue for each of year since 2006:
2006 – $521.58 Million
2007 – $549.91 Million
2008 – $568.19 Million
2009 – $591.69 Million
2010 – $610.19 million
Where exactly is the “loss of funding” that you and the school board keep talking about? Maybe the state portion was down, BUT the total revenues increased. Translation, this district has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
I remember voting for the lottery so it would fund education. That soon got moved to the “general fund”. Did any of that money go into this “rainy day” fund ? Maybe it is time to put those funds back into education. Heck, I might even play it again.
We must put education first. I am tired of going to my sons’ school and seeing the added stress on the teachers faces. Not only do they have to teach some ridiculous curriculum that has no natural progression so students pass the TAKS test. They have to worry daily about who is getting the axe. Can they really perform at their best with these cuts looming? Teaching is a calling and they should be paid better for it. There are enough politics in every school that they don’t need some overpaid board member telling them they don’t have a job or how to do it better.
Time to stand up people. You put your children in their hands everyday. Let them know you support them.
I am a teacher. I just read this to some of the staff, and you are a hero.
From one teacher: “THANK YOU for being human and for recognizing that’s it’s not a game of politics!!”
Another poses the question: “What will people do with their kids if we are not in schools all day? How many of those voting for these policies have children subject to this disaster or even the standardized tests? Do they not understand that we need an educated workforce?”
Where are all of the business owners who will have to later put their livelihoods and their life’s work into the hands of these children? Are tax cuts now worth the complete loss of everything later?
When I began my degree, I was told that the average teacher leaves the classroom before teaching 5 years and that Texas has the most certified teachers NOT teaching in the nation. That was in 2002 when things were supposedly “good” in education. You should see the bailout now, and what people don’t realize is that only the GOOD teachers are leaving.
If I can do well teaching 180 children who are inclined to be anywhere else doing anything else, then I can do anything. Why would I stick around being treated as if I don’t matter – the butt of idiotic jokes by those not in education as if their success is not due to some teacher somewhere, when I can do anything with very little training (Who better?)?
The short answer: BECAUSE THIS IS WHO I AM – A TEACHER!!!
But I don’t have to be, and maybe the community is saying by their silence or support of this educational genocide that they no longer want people who care in the classroom.
Get real, “Voice of Reason”. In this district we have been fighting for the BOT and top-heavy admin to quit wasting money, to be frugal and efficient and look toward the future for years rather than spend more money. Wastage and lack of foresight are the biggest reasons FBISD is in the shape its in now and we have to listen while the district blames Perry and Obama. Look who is getting the RIF axe: teachers with many years of valuable experiencewhose salaries cost more than the newer, less experienced and trained. By which would you rather have your children’s learning facilitated on a shoe string budget where the behavior of the students will be at an all-time low?
And yet the supe has been extended, with little fanfare – one might almost say “under the radar,” until 2015. No one else will take the job? He knows where the bodies are buried? What??
I agree it is not a “good” scene about what is happening to teachers. I was blessed to have been employed in education for forty one years so I will not be affected as some others. I have loved doing what I do. Yet, they do not want experienced folks; they figure they can cut back spending by ridding themselves of the highly experienced veterans.
It was time for me to get on with the rest of my life; however, I did feel a subtle hostility and covert harassment for me to go. Yet, since I had bigger fish to fry like completing my ABC Book. I stepped aside graciously and did not try to fight the issue. Even though it was an ageism bias.
It is a bad atmosphere on the job in many school districts across Texas and throughout this nation. This is not FBISD that I’m referencing at the moment: One veteran teacher of forty years was told that administration was watching her because her children, first graders, were not walking down the hall in a straight line; the ling was too wiggly.
Representative Reynolds, I am so grateful to have you in the lege and to see you here. Thank you for paying attention.
It’s absolutely absurd that they are firing good teachers–I know this first hand since I am one and see it happening around me. Parents and the public need to stand up with us!!! This district is too top-heavy and it’s KILLING our education system!
please check out FBISD Concerns, it is a face book group. We are trying to unite the community to stand up for the children, teacehers, and the community as they relate to FBISD.
“This district is too top-heavy and it’s KILLING our education system!”
That, and the lege’s refusal to raise revenues. Perry manufactured a crisis and is now using it as an excuse to drown our public schools in the bathtub (to quote Grover Norquist).
Perry made a public grandstanding stance in “dissing” the Obama monies sent to the states earmarked for education that would have helped us to avoid this crisis underfunding of education that we find ourselves currently. In reality, although, Perry politically profiled in a bold swagger and turned his nose up at the funds intended for education that President Obama sent all states, “Texas too”; yet, those supposedly, “spat upon funds” as Perry found so unappealing; those, so called “ dirty Obama” monies were not returned to Washington, D. C.
In fact, Bill White, when he was running for Governor against Perry informed us all about just whose pockets were in receipt of those intended educational monies sent to Texas for our children via President Obama. Whether you personally like President Obama or not, it is highly distasteful, deceitfully unfair, and intensely hypocritical for anyone to make up lies in trying to continuously slander and lay blame at Obama’s feet where it does not belong. It is just due to deepen, precipitating hate against President Obama.
If it were not for being an overt tell-tell sound of what is not pretty about our country, it would be laughably outrageous, in that, on the nightly news, the ‘Talking Heads” lay every, single problem in America as well as the gigantic mess of all time created by a former administration, but, nonetheless, it has been put at the feet of “Blame it on Obama”.
Did Obama cause Hurricane Katrina or Ike? Perhaps he is even responsible for the recent Tsunami in Japan! Do you think? Sounds good to me, why not blame natural disasters on President Obama, also.
Even though, I digress, but, please do review what Bill White said about the whereabouts of the education monies sent to Texas for our children. I do believe Texas is still a part of these United States since Perry changed his mind about seceding. Unless I missed it, I do not recall hearing/reading that the Obama educational funds were returned to Washington, D.C. Please correct me if any of you heard/read that the educational monies sent to Texas from Washington, D. C. were returned to sender.
The following is a statement relative to our Governor Rick Perry:
~`*`~
Why did Texas Governor Rick Perry initiate “The Twilight Rapist Task Force” in January 2010? Would retired Texas Ranger Chief Tony Leal be our state hero … and why?
~`*`~
Actually, they are relative questions and meant to make everyone aware of who is in charge of saving lives effectively. Thank you kindly, and please always have a sweet day away from negative thoughts and people.
XO
Peace & Love!!
They were returned because Lloyd Doggett decided to impose specific rules on the state of Texas which makes it constitutionally impossible to implement. Now, whether or not he knowingly did that is up for debate. Look for yourself, here’s a link to the bill http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1586eas2.txt.pdf
Look for Section 11 titled “ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.”
If you notice there are two specific sections. The first section states that the funds could only be used to supplement not take the place of budgeting deficits which would mean Texas couldn’t make any budget adjustments to education despite the state budget shortfall. The second section stated that the budget couldn’t changed for three years (2011, 2012, and 2013). If Perry authorized spending over those three years he would violate the Texas Constitution and Texas Supreme Court rulings that “prohibit the governor from dictating future spending to current or future Texas Legislatures” since those budgets are yet to be set.
In fact, Perry unsuccessfully went to Washington to lobby the the 9 member Democrat delegation to appeal the specific sections regarding Texas.
The public should be outraged about the way FBISD is handling their employees. Do you know that teachers who were told on Friday that they would no longer have jobs were called back in today and told, “Gee sorry we made a mistake. You have a job after all.” Can you begin to imagine what those folks went through over the weekend-because of course they had to decide whether to resign or be terminated by noon today! What an embarassing mess.
No, I did not know that. For real? Not that I don’t believe that (or anything) is impossible – I thought the RIF/meeting time line was backward from the beginning. When do I get a clown car?
Obama’s drilling ban is directly responsible for almost half of Texas’s decrease in annual revenue. Remember that when your kid’s favorite teacher gets laid off.
dizzyedge:
I have read and researched our state revenue shortfall and it’s well documented that it has nothing to do with the federal government nor President Obama. Actually President Obama bailed us out 2 years ago with the billions of dollars in federal stimulus funds.
For the record, in 2006, Gov. Rick Perry pushed through a tax swap that he said would better fund public education. Not only has that promise not proven true, but it actually drained money from schools, leaving the state with a permanent shortfall that has reached $5 billion a year.
We must close the corporate tax loopholes and use some of the Rainy Day Fund in order to help adequately fund public education.
Texas Dual-D; state deficits and drought budget is effecting rainy funds for education!
This is so typical of Democrates. When a “cut” is proposed to reduce ANY spending, you lead the cry “we’re putting out children out in the street without the ability to read and write”. In your view, the ONLY way to educate is to add more money that we don’t have. As a Representative elected to go to Austin to solve our debt problems, you have failed miserably. Shame on you!
HB 1 passed the Texas House 98-49 last night along party lines. I voted against the bill because of the severe cuts to public education.
We must make public education a priority. I filed several amendments that would add funds to public education. I will continue to fight for our children, teachers and our public schools. Our future depends on Texas having an educated workforce so that our residents can compete in a global economy for jobs!
If you were up there why didn’t you chat with Doggett about why he decided to screw the state of Texas, and my wife out of a job, with his job killing Texas amendment to the 10 Billion education aid fund?