State Buget busting my budget!!!

[m&m's mom]

Obviously this is not a Texas issue nor do I feel a tax issue.
This whole "teachers & education being sacred cows" is getting old.
I come from 4 generations where EVERY single female, with the exception of my sister and I, have been teachers. Even my family all agree that schools are not exempt from the reality of "too little money".
Every single person in any job has been affected by the budget crisis. 2 years ago I went 18 months without a raise- I had co-workers laid off. It just now is starting to trickle down to the schools to the extent we have all been facing for the last few years.
I am just tired of people expecting money to be spent when it flat is not there. We can't keep spending and not facing the current reality.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I agree with the fact that there is waste in education. But, it is not in the student to teacher ratio. Anyone who has ever researched this topic knows this is a data based fact. I personally think we could do away with a lot of technology that doesn't work half the time. We could also cut a lot in the way of sports, NOT art, music and theater. My own child plays sports and doesn't participate in those other activities. I think lowering teacher salaries is okay. But, don't raise student/teacher ratios!! That hurts kids! By the way, the increase is only between $20-40 dollars per month in our area. But, I guess the governments cost stay fixed???? Hmmm, I think gas for my car has increased more than that in the last year, per month. Not to mention that the state knew we would have this problem when they came up with this plan in 2006. I personally live within a budget and expect the state too. But, I think is is interesting where the government cuts money. I am not even going to comment in who we should and should not be educating. All I'm saying is kids are the ones that will pay for this in the long run, because adults can't seem to come up with a solution. Or maybe we should just all take our kids and put them in private school and just not educate those who don't have the money to do so.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

It comes down to the fact that it doesn't matter what we say or think or want. The powers that be have already been voted in. The damage they do will be long lasting at best and permanent at worst, but they are already in office. They don't care if I am opposed to their plans. They see the TX Constitution says they have to provide free education, so they will provide it at the bare minimum. If I don't like it I can send my son to private school, I can move to another state, or I can shut up. And they honestly have no preference for which one I choose.

 

[torinsmom]

No. Also, a first-year teacher who doesn't receive a contract for the next year cannot draw unemployment. Teacher-jobs are unique, and it's hard to compare us with other jobs, but it's fairly close to say we're "seasonal", with the season being 10 months out of the year. If your contract's up, you're not unemployed -- you just finished working what you were promised. Yes, several teachers at my school are considering taking the early retirement buy-out . . . but where are the new teachers going to come from? We don't have masses of people here waiting for teaching jobs. Also, they're talking about taking away the masters and National Board supplements. That sounds impossible. I really suspect they're talking about worst-case scenerio so that y'all'll be "happy" when you get 40 teachers.

We have hundreds of new teachers in my district that can't find jobs. They are subbing until they find something.

Thats a pretty broad stroke you're painting there. The main budget issue I see within school districts is that they are getting all this money from the state and federal government, but by the time it reaches the teacher/student level its gone. We have a very very bloated TEA, administrators are making insane amounts of money, Superintendents making multiple 6 figure incomes, poor accounting of money spent, and yet people wonder why spending keeps going up and up "per student" yet test scores decline year after year. Simply put, that money isnt being spent on students and quality teachers. It's being spent at the administrative level and the schools are left with the meager scraps left over.

Not only that, but there is a HUGE drain, particularly in Texas, of illegals who are not only stealing time and space in our schools from legal citizens and residents, but a majority of them are also getting free/reduced lunches, free pre-k, free after school care, and now we've decided that the schools need to feed these families children dinners and during the summer too. I remember enrolling my daughter in her first grade class in Carrolton/FB ISD and as we were waiting in line, not only was I the ONLY parent who spoke English, my DD was the only one with a birth certificate. You can't make a case for illegal aliens and their children being a beneficial part of any school district.

Sounds harsh, but the fact is that these people feel like they should get everything for nothing and that this country owes them for breaking the laws. If we didn't have to shell out tax payer dollars for their food, medical care, housing, education, etc. just think how much more would be available for the other people who legally belong here and should have access to these programs. If you don't believe me, go check out any number of their staged protests and walkouts in downtown Dallas, where the Mexican flag is all you will see. If Mexico is so great, please go back to drain the resources of your own country instead of becoming a burden on this one.

Do you know how hard it is to legally immigrate to this country? You need visas for every member of the family(around $10K or so my Sri Lankan friend told me), you need someone here to vouch for you, who can show they can support your whole family in addition to theirs for a year, and the adults in the family need proof they have jobs waiting for them here. That is to get a green card; there is more to get citizenship. Very few people can afford that process. I don't begrudge people for sneaking into our country. The hispanic parents I have had work harder than most of my other parents. They would love to be made legal, so they could get a better job and pay taxes. And they are so supportive of their children's education, much more so than most of my "American " parents.

Shoot, if I had been unfortunate enough to be born poor in Mexico, I would have snuck into the US too. What loving parent wouldn't want more for their kids?

Honestly, I think we should make the illegals who are hard workers legal. Give them a temporary green card, so they can get a better job and pay taxes. If they do well, make them legal. Send the rest AND THE AMERICANS LIVING OFF THE SYSTEM out of our country.

 

[Telcogirl]

Do you know how hard it is to legally immigrate to this country? You need visas for every member of the family(around $10K or so my Sri Lankan friend told me), you need someone here to vouch for you, who can show they can support your whole family in addition to theirs for a year, and the adults in the family need proof they have jobs waiting for them here. That is to get a green card; there is more to get citizenship. Very few people can afford that process. .

It may be hard, but it is the process. Since very few of us are true Americans, we have families that have gone thru this process. My great-grandfather obtained his sponsorship and brought his family here to America and followed the process. It was no easier back then than it is today. As such, my grandfather and his siblings turned into hard working, tax paying citizens.

I don't begrudge people for sneaking into our country. The hispanic parents I have had work harder than most of my other parents. They would love to be made legal, so they could get a better job and pay taxes. And they are so supportive of their children's education, much more so than most of my "American " parents..

Sneaking into this country is ILLEGAL. It is blatant disrespect for all this country stands for. Illegals in the country do not pay taxes and they are in no way supporting the services that they use. I honestly do not understand why this topic is so controversial. (Other than the fact the we live in an entitlement and instant gratification society where some individuals feel that rules do not apply to them)

Shoot, if I had been unfortunate enough to be born poor in Mexico, I would have snuck into the US too. What loving parent wouldn't want more for their kids?

Although this can be an emotional issue, you can't try to tug at the heart strings by saying 'what loving parent wouldn't want more for their kids'. Guess what? I want more for my kids, too. I want them to walk into a school that wasn't built 40 years ago and really should be torn down because its in such disrepair. I want for them to be able to play sports and go on field trips and be able to enjoy their academic life much the way we did. But it's not happening because there isn't any money for these types of essentials. So, following your sentiment, I should maybe lie and fake an address in a more affluent community so that my kids can get this type of education?

Honestly, I think we should make the illegals who are hard workers legal. Give them a temporary green card, so they can get a better job and pay taxes. If they do well, make them legal. Send the rest AND THE AMERICANS LIVING OFF THE SYSTEM out of our country.

That's a great plan you got there. And who is going to grade which illegal is working the hardest and therefore deserving of citizenship?

Listen, there is a process and a path to citizenship. If you follow it, you deserve to be here and will be welcomed as such. If you start your journey by breaking the law, sorry, you gotta go.

 

[si-am]

Just because it's hard to come here legally doesn't mean that anyone who wants to dodge the rules and leech off our system illegally should.

Paying taxes is hard, but I do it. Sitting through annoying red lights is hard but I do it.

Obtaining a green card can be difficult. Getting citizenship after that is pretty easy.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

What would the unemployment rate in this country be if there were no illegals? Perhaps not a coincidence that as we have allowed more and more of these people to remain, the economy has taken a downturn and unemployment has increased.

Right now, we have more people living within the borders than our economy can support. So why is this even an issue?

 

[okeydokey]

What would the unemployment rate in this country be if there were no illegals? Perhaps not a coincidence that as we have allowed more and more of these people to remain, the economy has taken a downturn and unemployment has increased.

Right now, we have more people living within the borders than our economy can support. So why is this even an issue?

Study after study has shown that unemployment would not be impacted. If there were no low wage earners to do these jobs, prices would increase due to paying citizens a livable wage to do them. The economy took a downturn because of the greedy banks and risky mortgages.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Study after study has shown that unemployment would not be impacted. If there were no low wage earners to do these jobs, prices would increase due to paying citizens a livable wage to do them. The economy took a downturn because of the greedy banks and risky mortgages.

That might have been true 5 years ago when unemployment was at 5% and foreclosures were not an issue... but how about now when people are losing unemployment benefits and possibly their homes?

 

[Telcogirl]

Study after study has shown that unemployment would not be impacted. If there were no low wage earners to do these jobs, prices would increase due to paying citizens a livable wage to do them. The economy took a downturn because of the greedy banks and risky mortgages.

Which studies are those? Do you have links to them so that we can take a look to peruse these facts?

 

[Kathi OD]

Just joining in a bit late here. We are in Indiana. Our state government has opted to make villians out of the educators in Indiana...I've never heard of state government actually making their educators to be the villians in a financial situation!!! .....

And I'm joining even later!

This sentiment is nothing new, maybe you just haven't paid attention until it hit home? (not meaning that as a dig, just how people tend to be) It's the same in many states across our country. NJ, PA, TX, NC, IN, TX, and a slew of others. The message in all these states is that if it weren't for the public school teachers (and in some cases, other public employees), there would be no budget crisis.

That line of thinking is so short-sighted. While public employees' salaries and benefits do comprise a large portion of governmental budgets, the financial crisis of the past several years is what broke the camel's back. Rates of return dropping dramatically, housing values dropping, high unemployment rates; all of these things helped to contribute to the budget messes.

No. Also, a first-year teacher who doesn't receive a contract for the next year cannot draw unemployment. Teacher-jobs are unique, and it's hard to compare us with other jobs, but it's fairly close to say we're "seasonal", with the season being 10 months out of the year. If your contract's up, you're not unemployed -- you just finished working what you were promised.

Not necessarily true. In NJ, if you are a first year teacher who is not rehired, for whatever reason, you can collect unemployment. However, you can't have any prospects for employment in the fall. If you apply and collect over the summer, then find a job for the fall, chances are you'll have to pay back the unemployment. If you continue to be unemployed come the new school year, it's all good.

It may be hard, but it is the process. Since very few of us are true Americans, we have families that have gone thru this process. My great-grandfather obtained his sponsorship and brought his family here to America and followed the process. It was no easier back then than it is today. As such, my grandfather and his siblings turned into hard working, tax paying citizens.

I tend to agree, however...

Sneaking into this country is ILLEGAL. It is blatant disrespect for all this country stands for. Illegals in the country do not pay taxes and they are in no way supporting the services that they use.

Not necessarily true. Many, if not most, illegals are paying taxes. I'll not get into how it's done, but they are paying taxes.

So, following your sentiment, I should maybe lie and fake an address in a more affluent community so that my kids can get this type of education?

You might be surprised how many "law-abiding citizens" do just that.

 

[bnhasak]

Many of these "illegals" are not at all. Maybe their parents are illegals, but the majority of the students/kids are legal. They were born here and are US citizens. They are OUR "problem" and not leeching off the system. Being that so many are US citizens they should be afforded the same rights and responsibilities of any other US child.

Maybe the loophole needs fixed or maybe the problem of illegal immigration needs corrected, but innocent US children don't deserve your outrage or scorn simply because of how their parents came to this country or how they obtained citizenship.

My husband is a public school teacher and we recently moved to a "better district" so our kids with special needs could get the services they so desperately need. We have sacrificed our 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home for a 2 bedroom townhouse but we'd do it all over again. Education is the key to success for my children (and all children IMO).

They spend more time each day in school than they do in their homes. It is VITAL that they are given the best chance at a good future and education is that chance and ticket. How many kids are realistically going to get that football scholarship or play for the NBA? EVERY child however can make their lives good and meaningful if they are given a solid and strong education.

NCLB didn't create uniformity or improvements. It created more problems, expenses and red tape for the entire education system.

I'm truly concerned that we aren't just falling behind in educating our youth, we are giving up.

 

[Telcogirl]

Many of these "illegals" are not at all. Maybe their parents are illegals, but the majority of the students/kids are legal. They were born here and are US citizens. They are OUR "problem" and not leeching off the system. Being that so many are US citizens they should be afforded the same rights and responsibilities of any other US child.
.

The children maybe legal, but the parents are not. Why does that make these children 'our' problem? My kids are not 'their' problem, are they?

I am a citizen that pays property tax on my home and my vehicles. That tax in turn is used to fund my towns education budget. (In fact, that is where most of the money goes to.) That budget is used to educate my kids and 'their' kids. So, I must bear the burden to educate children of non-taxpaying illegal parents to the detriment of my own children's education?

Or, as you did, I could pack it in on the community I live in now and move to a more affluent community and let somebody else worry about where the education funding is going to come from. Maybe I rent in that new community and don't contribute any tax dollars towards education. That's not the answer.

What happens when there are simply not enough tax paying citizens in towns like mine to support the basic services that we need as a society?

 

[Planogirl]

I'm another who's puzzled as to why the world's children seem to be "our" problem. I would also like to take in everyone and make their lives better but it's just not economically possible. The border states are struggling under the weight of this and it's probably only going to get worse.

 

[Gina]

Our country is the greatest on the planet, and I don't think any of us wonder why people want to come live here. You don't see anyone trying to sneak into Mexico, after all. But the law is the law, and not enforcing the immigration laws is costing us SO much. A huge, giant chunk of many if not most communities' budget woes could be solved almost immediately if you had to show a valid US driver's license/passport/green card to obtain employment, schooling, healthcare, state services, anything. If you're not a citizen, then you are entitled to nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. And the "anchor baby" law needs to be abolished yesterday.

The cost in Harris County alone, the county that encompasses most of Houston, spends more than $150 million dollars per year on emergency care to illegals in the emergency room and clinics. Yet HISD is closing schools and laying off teachers, and worse (IMO), planning on having to lay off police and firefighters. How many of those jobs could be paid for with that $150 million?

It's such an obvious solution, and I will go to my grave not understanding the controversy. You're here illegally, out you go. And take your children with you, if you want. No one is breaking up families, you can all go live wherever you came from. I'm sorry the immigration process is so arduous, but that's a different battle, and one I don't really give a %$@# about, given the situation in our OWN country.

It just makes me nauseous that so many good teachers and cops and firefighters and other vital government employees are losing their livelihoods while so many are breaking the law and draining our resources.

 

[brerrabbit]

I can only comment on the situation in Texas because that's where I live. I don't particularly like Perry but will say this, he is not saying lay off teachers, what he is saying is we have a lot less money and everything will be cut. Individual districts need to figure out what those cuts will be so if teachers in your schools are going to be laid off that was the decision of the local school board and not the govenor's.

This attititude is the result of the public in general as well as lawmakers, school boards and everyone else thinking our economy would always get better and better. No one ever considered or talked about what would happen in a down economy. As such some pretty poor decisions were made. Example the voters Allen a town in the Dallas Metroplex passed a bond election to build a $60 million plus stadium for their single high school. Or the case of Friendswood ISD superintendent who got mad and sent a letter to the Galveston County Appraisal District when the property valuations for her district only went up 8% one year.(Texas appraisals are done yearly and taxes are based on a % of the valuation but if you have a homestead exemption they can only increase the value 10% a year). When the situation came to light and the media asked what was wrong with the valuation she said, because we have already included a 10% revenue increase for next years budget. Another example in Pearland where I live we have a school (9th grade center) that was built 6 years ago that is empty but we are still paying for. We have three elementary schools at 50% capacity. We planned for growth using the wrong numbers (included parts of the city that were already zoned to another district in calculating growth). The school district and school board made these decisions without properly analyzing the numbers. We fired our superindentant and now the school board has authorized spending $250,000 a year in salary for her replacement and hired a search firm to find that person and will pay them upwards of $25,000. This after being recognized as an eximpliary district. In other words she was doing her job right!

When the principal of the high school was hired they were given goals for a three year period, in year two it was obvious they would not be met, so they moved her to administration gave her a raise and hired a new one, she failed, hired a new one, moved her to administration and gave her a raise, she failed, took a job in a new district as a HS principal got a raise and we hired a new one. I look for him to be in administration soon as well.

The point is education is important for thousands of reasons but our local districts in Texas spend money like a drunk sailor on shore leave with absolutely no consiquinces. There are literally hundreds more examples of spending that make no sense. So when we hit crisis mode everyone is the bad guy and no one wants to stop the madness. We, as school districts, cities, counties, states and a country need to realize there is significantly less money to go around and just like companies in the private sector have to find a way to do more with less. I work in corporate America and have for over 29 years and face the same problem every day of my career. Every family in the country has had to do the same over and over again but everyone always has the same attitude, cut the things that are not important to me. Problem is everything is important to somebody so at what point do we just accept across the board cuts and find a way to live within our means?

 

[TKDMommy]

As a former teacher in Texas, all I can say is how sad this makes me to hear this. At least in the district I live in they have made claims that no teachers will be laid off as they will budget elsewhere.

 

[Gina]

Another example in Pearland where I live we have a school (9th grade center) that was built 6 years ago that is empty but we are still paying for. We have three elementary schools at 50% capacity. We planned for growth using the wrong numbers (included parts of the city that were already zoned to another district in calculating growth). The school district and school board made these decisions without properly analyzing the numbers. We fired our superindentant and now the school board has authorized spending $250,000 a year in salary for her replacement and hired a search firm to find that person and will pay them upwards of $25,000. This after being recognized as an eximpliary district. In other words she was doing her job right!

>snip<


Every family in the country has had to do the same over and over again but everyone always has the same attitude, cut the things that are not important to me. Problem is everything is important to somebody so at what point do we just accept across the board cuts and find a way to live within our means?

I had no idea about all that... Very interesting, and very disheartening. I knew they were looking for a new superintendant -- they keep sending me surveys about it -- but I didn't know the original one had been fired. That's crazy -- our school district is amazing, and the main reason I moved to Pearland 10 years ago when my son started kindergarten. He's at the Searcy 9th Grade Center now -- which 9th grade center is empty? I didn't even know there was another one.

My previous rant on spending on illegals aside, I couldn't agree more with you that everyone -- not just Congress, but local school districts, town governments, public entities, have been spending money they weren't sure they'd even have and just hoping for the best. Doesn't work for my budget, can't see how they thought it would work for theirs!

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Here in Kansas #259 is the largest district(we are in Wichita). Last year we had to cut 20 million. This year 30 million! So, here we are all waiting and trying to see who will have a job next year, and who won't. I'm really glad we are relocating to Fl. We were also told that this will be going on for several more years to come. Very sad!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am STRONGLY opposed to illegals being able to access services for free. But after thinking about this A LOT today, I have come to the realization that a program that would fast-track them to legal citizenship wouldn't do any good. This is why:

(This scenario makes some assumptions that are not applicable in ALL situations, but I think it is fair to say the assumptions are accurate in a great percentage of cases.)

The illegal immigrants we have are not well educated. These are typically not folks who hold advanced degrees in their home countries, held back here ONLY by their immigration status.
The jobs they hold now are largely low paying, and they are paid in cash. The reason employers choose to hire illegals is because it is CHEAPER than hiring employees that they have to pay taxes on. If an employee became legal and wanted to have their taxes paid, the employers would balk. But let's say the employer complies.

Now, let's say the employee DID start filing taxes. Low income families get back all the money they pay in, and in some cases, MORE than they paid in! How does that help anything? I don't think the change in their legal status would have much of an impact on their financial status for quite awhile. Being legal would allow them to go out and look for higher paying jobs, but there AREN'T many jobs out there right now - for ANYBODY.

In the majority of cases, by allowing them citizen status we end up not collecting any taxes from them that wouldn't be refunded AND we'd be paying them additional money for being low income. Or am I missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere?

I am not trying to start a fight or drum up controversy. I find the whole subject fascinating.