Thursday, June 03, 2010

Perry Sells Out Texas Education - - - Again

Not happy with his first refusal to participate in the federal education funding program, Race to the Top, Texas Governor Rick Perry has declined for the second time to participate in round two of the program to stimulate education quality, and quantity in America.

From the Austin American-Statesman:

“To no one’s surprise, Gov. Rick Perry announced on Tuesday that Texas would not apply for some of the remaining $3.4 billion in federal grant money intended to spur education reform across the country. Texas could have won as much as $700 million, if it had chosen to compete.”

Now having just witnessed a local school district nearby dismiss 463 educators from their jobs, I find this news to be quite frankly offensive. Effectively Perry is telling parents of Texas school children that he will neither allow the state government to fund public education at a level that some deem as merely adequate, nor will he allow Texas to try for some federal funding to fill the widening gap between what is needed to educate Texas children, and what is actually provided.

And the TEA, having spent hundreds of hours preparing documents that they would have submitted to obtain up to $700 million in federal dollars, federal dollars that have already been appropriated, is now thinking that if someone demands a copy of their work, as is anyone’s right under the Freedom of Information Act, that might put them at a disadvantage if for some reason Texas participates in Round 3.

If for instance, Texas acquires a new governor in November that would not deny his own state’s school districts much-needed federal funding.

So they released their horde of documents, found here.

This was a lot of work. A lot of work that adds up to absolutely nothing if it doesn’t even get submitted. And yes, it would have been criminal if the TEA didn’t itself produce this product because their governor, their boss, won’t like it, use it or submit it.

And I have learned from a lifetime of working for incompetent fools that the last thing you do is predict how low your boss can possibly perform, and you work in anticipation of that happening just to make life easier on you.

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