According to Science Daily Texas was the only state in the nation to cut per student funding. The study, done by the National Education Association, says Texas per student funding dropped by 1 percent. The study also notes that state share of funding for education has dropped to 35%, down from a high of around 60% last decade. According to the NEA, Texas is spending $7, 132 per student, compared to the national average of $8,618. A spokesperson from Gov. Goodhair’s office was quick to claim that the Texas Education Agency had reported actual per-student spending at $7,358, which if I’ve done my math correctly, shows the state only actually cut per student funding by .7%.
In a related story, the Houston Chronicle points out that:
The governor's press secretary, Kathy Walt, questioned the accuracy of the NEA figures Monday, saying they don't reflect the small funding increase that the Legislature approved for public schools for the 2004-05 school year.
They also pointed out:
Mr. Perry has cited statistics from the annual NEA survey in the past to support his claim that education spending in Texas has been more than adequate.
In short, Gov. Goodhair’s office is saying Texas didn’t cut spending on students by that much, and you can’t believe the NEA’s statistics, unless they agree with what he’s saying.
6 comments:
Texas students and teachers once again get the short-end of the stick. What are Texas' laws regarding collective bargaining and Teachers? Can they form strong unions and execute job actions?
Hmm,
Here's the raw link to the Denton R/C
http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-schoolspending_06tex.ART.State.Edition2.e2aaf84.html
And here is basically the same story as Science Daily's, from the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3505049.html
Edwonk,
Collective bargaining by teachers is outlawed in Texas, therefore the unions are extremely weak. Going on strike or implementing a slow down are also illegal.
whoops,
the Chroncile link got cut off.
I should know not to post before I've had coffee.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3505049.html
here
Let's see if that works
You can also find the story from the Texarkana Gazette
Allen,
Did you happen to catch the little blurb about Gov. Goodhair using the NEA figures in the past? Even the figures the Gov's office is throwing out are waaaay below national average.
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