Rick Perry Won't Save Texas Public Education

The AP via News8Austin: Perry orders TEA to implement school spending restrictions

Gov. Rick Perry is blaming the Texas Legislature for inaction during three failed special sessions on school finance reform.

So Perry today ordered the state education commissioner to restrict how much Texas schools can spend outside of direct classroom expenses.

Under the order, districts will be required to spend no more than 35 percent of their budgets on non-classroom expenses such as transportation, school lunches and administration.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press, All rights reserved.

Austin-American Statesman: Perry wants classes to get 65% of money

Under his order, Shirley Neely, the state education commissioner, is expected to implement changes in financial reporting by school districts, adding a mandate that at least 65 percent of funds go to classroom instruction.

Proposals for such a directive have upset school officials fearful of being forced to shift resources from areas such as transportation, campus safety and food services.

[...]

Some 1,000-plus Texas school districts spent an average of 60 percent of funds on classroom instruction in 2002-03, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Austin-area districts fell short of the 65 percent mark that year.

Copyright 2001-2005 Cox Texas Newspapers, L.P. All rights reserved.

Keep tryin', Guvna. You cannot save something that is fundamentally flawed in theory because it will be fundamentally flawed in operation. Take heart in one thing, though: your nemesis Carole Keeton Strayhorn can't fix the problem either. It doesn't really matter who the governor is when government involvement in education is the problem.

Posted by Drizzten at August 23, 2005 08:57 AM