Is Texas Turning Public School Students Into Puppets?

            Controversy over public education in Texas is a long-standing issue that has changed with the additions of details over time, like the “Race to the Top” refusal.  Yes, the issue of Texas’ public education has been talked to death, but the ever-changing state of school funding and “accountability” testing continues to draw attention.  As one of the lowest ranking states in education, Texas is struggling to preserve its own curriculum rather than adopting the national common core curriculum.  The problem with this is that the proposed standards can’t compete with the national standards, or even the standards of other states.

            Going back to 2010, a year after the “Race to the Top” incentive was proposed, Rick Perry refused to compete.  The goal of the Race to the Top program was to get the states to compete for a grant that would go to that states’ education reform and innovation.  The competitive grants could have brought $750 million to Texas.  Who in their right mind would refuse that amount of money going to a good cause such as public education?  Apparently Perry believed he was preventing “federal takeover of public schools” by refusing the opportunity.

            Even the Texas Education Agency Commissioner, who is handpicked by Perry, has spoken out against the Texas education system.  Recently stepping down from his position as Commissioner, Robert Scott criticizes our standardized testing, saying that is has transformed into a “perversion of its original intent.”  Texas’ standardized testing, which supposed to measure the states so-called “Accountability”, ends up burdening the schools instead of helping them progress.  Whether it’s the TAKS or the STAAR, we are relying too much on and setting the stakes too high for standardized tests.  Do you really want entire education system dependent on one test?  What will become of Texas’ public education?  Will the values of traditional inquisitive education be forgotten in an attempt to make Texas school children’s education quantifiable?

            Another heated topic tying into the quality of public education is the decision made by lawmakers to cut $5 billion from public schools, resulting in a loss of more than 25,000 employees for Texas schools since the education budget was cut.  Perry’s “Texas Budget Compact” was strategically introduced on Tax Day, as if Texans weren’t dealing with enough.  Although he regards his proposals as a means to help Texas, he asks legislators to “oppose any and all new taxes or tax increases, preserve the Rainy Day Fund, and cut wasteful and redundant government programs and agencies.”  My issue with his statement is the part about cutting wasteful and redundant government programs.  That part of the proposition would be great if carried out successfully, but where is Perry cutting from?  In regards to his actions of educational budget cutting, it seems that he considers public education as a wasteful government agency.  Last time I checked, the future of Texas isn’t exactly “wasteful.”  For better or for worse, Texas school districts reacted to the budget cut in a big way.  More than half of the school districts are suing the state of Texas, in four different lawsuits, questioning if the state has given enough money to schools.  A fifth lawsuit was filed questioning how the state spends the money given to schools.  Still, there are some school districts that remain uninvolved in the lawsuits, either because of lack of resources or because they fear the outcome will be worse than their current situation.  Whatever the outcome may be, Texas citizens, lawmakers, and officials alike will have a lot on their hands concerning the Texas education system.