Upset by finance plan, parents, advocates say they'll influence races
08:31 PM CDT on Friday, July 22, 2005
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – A group of former PTA leaders and public school advocates, upset over the Legislature's handling of school finance, has launched a political action committee that plans to get involved in as many as 20 key legislative races next year, organizers of the PAC said Friday.
Carolyn Boyle and other board members said they hope to raise at least $250,000 from parents and other supporters of public schools who are concerned about lawmakers' support for public education. The political donations will be contributed to Democratic and Republican candidates, they said.
"There are no good excuses for the failure by the Legislature to meet the needs of 4.4 million students enrolled in Texas public schools," Ms. Boyle said at a news conference near the Capitol.
Representatives of the PAC said they are opposed to the school finance and education reform bill that the Legislature was poised to approve on Wednesday before it was killed by a Senate filibuster that ended the last special session. Lawmakers began a new special session on Thursday, and the same school finance bill is expected to go before the House and Senate within the next two weeks.
Virtually every school district and education group in Texas is opposed to the legislation, primarily because it provides only a small increase in funding for schools. That new money – $2.4 billion over two years – represents an annual increase of about 1.8 percent.
School districts have complained the new money won't even cover inflation and is a fraction of what a state judge cited in his ruling last year that called the current school finance system unconstitutional. That decision was appealed by the state to the Texas Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled.
Lawmakers are scheduled to continue work on the school finance bill on Monday.
The Web site for Texas Parent PAC is www.txparentpac.com.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/
072305dntexptapac.a037ff.html
Friday, July 22, 2005
Second Special Session begins
Hope that all of my faithful readers are well. I've been very busy with my mother's poor health situation. She has help (including my Dad) but is in need of 24-hour care.
So the second special session has begun. In articles that I've been reading about the new special session, there is a lot of pessimism is in the air with concerns that either an inequitable bill favoring the super-rich districts like Highland Park in Texas will pass, or that the pursuit of unanimity in both chambers is equally difficult just as it was in both the regular and first special legislative sessions. As you can see from the report below, compliments of the Texas LULAC listserv, (unrepresentative) conference committees will begin negotiations of the education and tax bills shortly
The governor appears to be responding, in part, to Comptroller Carole Strayhorn's implicit challenge when she refers to him as "Do-Nothing Perry."
Still, columnists throughout the state are saying that a bad school funding or tax bill is not better than no legislation getting passed at all. I agree. So there is where we are in Texas school funding politics. -Angela
Friday, July 22, 2005
Second Special Session begins
The Second Called Special Session started on Thursday at 10 a.m. under the call of passing legislation on school finance and reform, tax reform, telecommunications, judicial pay raises, and tuition revenue bonds. The Governor has vowed to keep legislators in Austin until school finance reform and property tax relief are addressed.
The House named select committees for both the education bill, HB 2, and the tax bill, HB 3. The following are members of the Select Committee on Public Education Reform:
*
Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington
*
Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas
*
Rep. Dianne Delisi, R-Temple
*
Rep. Bill Keffer, R-Dallas
*
Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands
Members of the members of the Select Committee on Property Tax Relief are:
*
Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland
*
Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton
*
Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa
*
Rep. David Swinford, R-Amarillo
*
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth
These were the conferees named to the bill during the Regular and First Called Special Sessions, and will be the only members voting on the bill in committee this Special Session.
The Senate Committee on Education passed out its education bill, SB 2. The bill is the same bill that was passed by the Senate at the end of the Regular Session. The House Select Committee on Education Reform also passed out HB 2. However, its version of the education bill is the conference committee report from the First Called Special Session. Therefore, the Senate and House will be considering different versions
of the education bill on their respective floors next week.
The House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief also passed out HB 3.
The current proposal would raise the 6.25 percent state sales tax by
three-quarters of a cent per dollar, increase the cigarette tax by $1
per pack, and close loopholes in the corporate franchise tax. Certain
services, including auto repair services, would be subject to sales tax.
The proposal also lowers the cap on school operating taxes by 25 cents
per $100 valuation next year and more in subsequent years.
The Senate plans to convene on Monday at 1:30 pm to hear SB 2. Sen.
Shapiro has stated that she is willing to consider amendments at that
time. The House will convene at 10 a.m. on Monday, and plans to take up
the tax bill on Tuesday and the education bill on Wednesday. The
conference committees will likely begin negotiations of the education
and tax bills shortly thereafter.
The fate of HB 1, the appropriations bill from the First Called Special
Session, is still uncertain. The Governor has yet to sign or veto the
legislation, and there has been no comparable legislation filed for the
Second Called Special Session at this time. It is uncertain whether the
Legislative Budget Board can implement Budget Execution Authority while
the Legislature is in session. A veto of HB 1 could greatly affect the
opening of the 2005-06 school year.
Second Special Session Proclamation
Governor Perry's proclamation (pdf) This link opens in a new window. calling the Texas Legislature back for the 79th Legislature, Second Called Session.
So the second special session has begun. In articles that I've been reading about the new special session, there is a lot of pessimism is in the air with concerns that either an inequitable bill favoring the super-rich districts like Highland Park in Texas will pass, or that the pursuit of unanimity in both chambers is equally difficult just as it was in both the regular and first special legislative sessions. As you can see from the report below, compliments of the Texas LULAC listserv, (unrepresentative) conference committees will begin negotiations of the education and tax bills shortly
The governor appears to be responding, in part, to Comptroller Carole Strayhorn's implicit challenge when she refers to him as "Do-Nothing Perry."
Still, columnists throughout the state are saying that a bad school funding or tax bill is not better than no legislation getting passed at all. I agree. So there is where we are in Texas school funding politics. -Angela
Friday, July 22, 2005
Second Special Session begins
The Second Called Special Session started on Thursday at 10 a.m. under the call of passing legislation on school finance and reform, tax reform, telecommunications, judicial pay raises, and tuition revenue bonds. The Governor has vowed to keep legislators in Austin until school finance reform and property tax relief are addressed.
The House named select committees for both the education bill, HB 2, and the tax bill, HB 3. The following are members of the Select Committee on Public Education Reform:
*
Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington
*
Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas
*
Rep. Dianne Delisi, R-Temple
*
Rep. Bill Keffer, R-Dallas
*
Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands
Members of the members of the Select Committee on Property Tax Relief are:
*
Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland
*
Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton
*
Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa
*
Rep. David Swinford, R-Amarillo
*
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth
These were the conferees named to the bill during the Regular and First Called Special Sessions, and will be the only members voting on the bill in committee this Special Session.
The Senate Committee on Education passed out its education bill, SB 2. The bill is the same bill that was passed by the Senate at the end of the Regular Session. The House Select Committee on Education Reform also passed out HB 2. However, its version of the education bill is the conference committee report from the First Called Special Session. Therefore, the Senate and House will be considering different versions
of the education bill on their respective floors next week.
The House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief also passed out HB 3.
The current proposal would raise the 6.25 percent state sales tax by
three-quarters of a cent per dollar, increase the cigarette tax by $1
per pack, and close loopholes in the corporate franchise tax. Certain
services, including auto repair services, would be subject to sales tax.
The proposal also lowers the cap on school operating taxes by 25 cents
per $100 valuation next year and more in subsequent years.
The Senate plans to convene on Monday at 1:30 pm to hear SB 2. Sen.
Shapiro has stated that she is willing to consider amendments at that
time. The House will convene at 10 a.m. on Monday, and plans to take up
the tax bill on Tuesday and the education bill on Wednesday. The
conference committees will likely begin negotiations of the education
and tax bills shortly thereafter.
The fate of HB 1, the appropriations bill from the First Called Special
Session, is still uncertain. The Governor has yet to sign or veto the
legislation, and there has been no comparable legislation filed for the
Second Called Special Session at this time. It is uncertain whether the
Legislative Budget Board can implement Budget Execution Authority while
the Legislature is in session. A veto of HB 1 could greatly affect the
opening of the 2005-06 school year.
Second Special Session Proclamation
Governor Perry's proclamation (pdf) This link opens in a new window. calling the Texas Legislature back for the 79th Legislature, Second Called Session.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Second special session starts today
Thursday, July 21, 2005
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Time ran out for school finance legislation Wednesday, so Gov. Rick Perry ordered lawmakers to try yet again to pass education and tax bills that face staunch opposition from teachers, businesses and school districts.
Senate Democrats killed the measure favored by GOP leaders with parliamentary tactics, including a two-hour filibuster. To pass, it had to be approved by the House and Senate before midnight, the official end of the special session that began 30 days ago.
DallasNews.com/extra
Chat transcript: Schools and taxes
More School Finance
A companion tax-swap bill suffered a similar fate, abandoned in the final days of the session because of an impasse between House and Senate leaders over how to tax consumers, smokers and businesses.
Mr. Perry said that tired, frustrated lawmakers would be called into another special session – their second of the year and sixth since 2003 – starting this morning. And, he warned, they would stay in session until the bills are sent to his desk.
"Education reform and property tax relief are the two most significant issues the Legislature faces," he said."Lawmakers won't leave Austin until both priorities are addressed."
In the Senate, parliamentary objections from Democrats – a tactic known as "chubbing" – helped stall debate long enough that the Senate's longest-serving member, Democrat John Whitmire of Houston, could hold the floor until midnight and talk the bill to death.
"This bill has united people like no other school finance bill before. It has united Democrats and Republicans in opposition to this bill," said Mr. Whitmire, whose filibuster was his first in 22 years. "It has united teachers, school superintendents, PTA leaders, school janitors and bus drivers in opposition."
Mr. Whitmire objected to the bill because of its provisions and because it was being rushed through while lawmakers knew they would be starting another session today, he said.
Several House members wandered into the Senate chamber, wondering whether the maneuvering there would make it a waste of their time to work on the measure.
"A filibuster may be the most merciful way to end this," said one House Republican.
Mr. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick were already looking to strategy for the next session.
"We will start a lot further along than we were 30 days ago," Mr. Dewhurst said after a private meeting with the other top leaders. "When you look back at the history of the Legislature over the last decade, it has been very tough to pass school finance bills.
"But we have made really big progress, so we will be able to conclude both of these matters during the next special session."
After House and Senate negotiators finally released their compromise Tuesday, school districts and education groups began bombarding lawmakers with e-mails and phone calls, urging rejection of the proposal.
Teacher groups were upset about the pay raise and a proposal for bonuses based on student test scores. School districts complained bitterly that the $2.4 billion in new money over two years hardly covers inflation and would mostly be consumed by new mandates from the state.
The companion tax bill would trade billions of dollars in school property tax reductions for higher state taxes on consumers, smokers and some businesses.
'Slow things down'
Dallas Democratic Sen. Royce West, another critic of the school finance proposal, said it didn't make sense to force it through the Legislature when those who will live under its requirements are almost universally opposed.
"It won't hurt to slow things down a little bit," said Mr. West, one of two Senate negotiators on the school finance bill who refused to support the compromise. The only other Democrat among the 10 lawmakers who brokered the deal, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, also declined to sign on.
While some have suggested waiting until the Texas Supreme Court rules on a school finance lawsuit filed by hundreds of districts, including Dallas, Mr. Perry scoffed at that idea.
"It is important for us to get this work done. This isn't something for the courts to do, it is something for the Legislature to do," he said.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running against Mr. Perry in next year's GOP gubernatorial primary, said the Legislature's failure to overhaul school finance in the last several years proves Mr. Perry "is no leader."
Mr. Perry retorted: "To take a broadside like that at every member of this Legislature is irresponsible."
Pay raises blasted
While sponsors touted the school finance bill for providing new money for schools and enacting a battery of needed education changes, opponents said it would do little to improve public schools.
"One bad bill down, one to go," said an e-mail sent by the Texas Federation of Teachers that urged its members to voice their opposition to the school finance measure.
The group called the proposed pay raise "measly" and an "insult to Texas teachers."
Teachers would be guaranteed $1,000 apiece under the proposal – an average 2.5 percent raise – this fall. An additional $500 per teacher would be allocated to school districts, but districts would decide whether to give that money to each teacher or use it for merit pay to reward certain educators.
Leaders of the state's major teacher organizations noted that the $1,000 raise includes $500 that was taken away in 2003 because of a massive revenue shortfall that forced budget cuts across state government.
Next year, the bill would provide no money for another across-the-board raise, but districts would get an extra $500 per teacher for incentive pay programs.
Documents showing how much school districts would receive under the legislation – which often are the key deciding factor for lawmakers' votes – only fueled opposition.
Many poor districts would receive close to a 3 percent boost, the minimum increase that lawmakers promised. The Dallas school district would see its funding increase 4 percent by the 2006-07 school year, while the Highland Park would receive a 9 percent increase.
The additional money projected for Highland Park schools and other property-rich districts is the result of new limits that the bill proposes in Robin Hood revenue sharing by those districts.
"I cannot vote for something that is going to increase the gap between the very wealthiest districts and all the other districts," said Ms. Van de Putte, whose Senate district includes several poorer school districts.
Florence Shapiro, lead Senate negotiator on the proposal, has insisted that it does far more than courts have ordered to equalize funding between rich and poor districts.
"This bill provides more equity in school funding than this state has ever seen," the Plano Republican said.
Staff writers Robert T. Garrett and Christy Hoppe contributed to this report.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
SPENDING REAUTHORIZED
The House voted Wednesday to send Gov. Rick Perry a bill restoring the $33.6 billion education budget he vetoed when he called lawmakers into special session last month. The move had been intended to help force the House and Senate to reach a deal on school finance and property tax overhaul, but one of the few bills both chambers passed was to reauthorize the spending Mr. Perry cut. It's unclear whether Mr. Perry will sign the measure, but it passed both chambers with enough votes to override another veto. Also, provisions in state law allow for the money to be spent regardless, so schools are certain to open on time.
SCHOOL FUNDING CHANGES
House Bill 2, a form of which is likely to arise in subsequent special sessions, would guarantee a funding increase of about 4 percent over two years. A look at how area districts would fare in 2007 under current law and under House Bill 2:
District Fiscal 2007 revenue per student under current law* Fiscal 2007 revenue per student under HB2* Percentage change
Highland Park $5,768 $ 6,285 8.96%
Cedar Hill $5,477 $ 5,933 8.33%
Celina $5,962 $ 6,438 7.98%
Grand Prairie $5,914 $ 6,350 7.37%
Red Oak $5,712 $ 6,111 6.99%
Arlington $5,552 $ 5,928 6.77%
Wylie $5,313 $ 5,670 6.72%
Birdville $5,801 $ 6,189 6.71%
Lancaster $5,849 $ 6,240 6.68%
Mansfield $5,521 $ 5,877 6.45%
Garland $5,684 $ 6,047 6.39%
Duncanville $5,942 $ 6,318 6.33%
Mesquite $5,777 $ 6,131 6.13%
Lake Dallas $5,584 $ 5,920 6.02%
Irving $5,919 $ 6,275 6.01%
Azle $5,728 $ 6,071 5.99%
DeSoto $5,745 $ 6,087 5.95%
Keller $5,248 $ 5,558 5.91%
McKinney $5,509 $ 5,820 5.66%
Royse City $5,910 $ 6,240 5.58%
Fort Worth $6,236 $ 6,555 5.12%
White Settlement $4,972 $ 5,220 4.99%
Midlothian $5,755 $ 6,037 4.88%
Richardson $6,119 $ 6,392 4.46%
Ennis $6,304 $ 6,583 4.41%
Everman $6,317 $ 6,591 4.34%
Frisco $5,745 $ 5,992 4.32%
Allen $5,455 $ 5,689 4.27%
Denton $6,359 $ 6,628 4.23%
Lewisville $6,224 $ 6,487 4.23%
Plano $6,179 $ 6,440 4.22%
Carrollton-FB $6,529 $ 6,804 4.21%
Northwest $7,327 $ 7,635 4.20%
Coppell $5,838 $ 6,079 4.13%
Carroll $5,951 $ 6,194 4.08%
Hurst-Euless-Bedford $5,987 $ 6,231 4.06%
Wilmer-Hutchins $6,540 $ 6,804 4.04%
Dallas $6,766 $ 7,039 4.03%
Grapevine-Colleyville $5,993 $ 6,232 3.99%
Rockwall $6,447 $ 6,704 3.99%
*Includes only state and local revenue sources.
SOURCE: Texas Legislature
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072105dntexschoolfinance.281c5f1.html
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Time ran out for school finance legislation Wednesday, so Gov. Rick Perry ordered lawmakers to try yet again to pass education and tax bills that face staunch opposition from teachers, businesses and school districts.
Senate Democrats killed the measure favored by GOP leaders with parliamentary tactics, including a two-hour filibuster. To pass, it had to be approved by the House and Senate before midnight, the official end of the special session that began 30 days ago.
DallasNews.com/extra
Chat transcript: Schools and taxes
More School Finance
A companion tax-swap bill suffered a similar fate, abandoned in the final days of the session because of an impasse between House and Senate leaders over how to tax consumers, smokers and businesses.
Mr. Perry said that tired, frustrated lawmakers would be called into another special session – their second of the year and sixth since 2003 – starting this morning. And, he warned, they would stay in session until the bills are sent to his desk.
"Education reform and property tax relief are the two most significant issues the Legislature faces," he said."Lawmakers won't leave Austin until both priorities are addressed."
In the Senate, parliamentary objections from Democrats – a tactic known as "chubbing" – helped stall debate long enough that the Senate's longest-serving member, Democrat John Whitmire of Houston, could hold the floor until midnight and talk the bill to death.
"This bill has united people like no other school finance bill before. It has united Democrats and Republicans in opposition to this bill," said Mr. Whitmire, whose filibuster was his first in 22 years. "It has united teachers, school superintendents, PTA leaders, school janitors and bus drivers in opposition."
Mr. Whitmire objected to the bill because of its provisions and because it was being rushed through while lawmakers knew they would be starting another session today, he said.
Several House members wandered into the Senate chamber, wondering whether the maneuvering there would make it a waste of their time to work on the measure.
"A filibuster may be the most merciful way to end this," said one House Republican.
Mr. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick were already looking to strategy for the next session.
"We will start a lot further along than we were 30 days ago," Mr. Dewhurst said after a private meeting with the other top leaders. "When you look back at the history of the Legislature over the last decade, it has been very tough to pass school finance bills.
"But we have made really big progress, so we will be able to conclude both of these matters during the next special session."
After House and Senate negotiators finally released their compromise Tuesday, school districts and education groups began bombarding lawmakers with e-mails and phone calls, urging rejection of the proposal.
Teacher groups were upset about the pay raise and a proposal for bonuses based on student test scores. School districts complained bitterly that the $2.4 billion in new money over two years hardly covers inflation and would mostly be consumed by new mandates from the state.
The companion tax bill would trade billions of dollars in school property tax reductions for higher state taxes on consumers, smokers and some businesses.
'Slow things down'
Dallas Democratic Sen. Royce West, another critic of the school finance proposal, said it didn't make sense to force it through the Legislature when those who will live under its requirements are almost universally opposed.
"It won't hurt to slow things down a little bit," said Mr. West, one of two Senate negotiators on the school finance bill who refused to support the compromise. The only other Democrat among the 10 lawmakers who brokered the deal, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, also declined to sign on.
While some have suggested waiting until the Texas Supreme Court rules on a school finance lawsuit filed by hundreds of districts, including Dallas, Mr. Perry scoffed at that idea.
"It is important for us to get this work done. This isn't something for the courts to do, it is something for the Legislature to do," he said.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running against Mr. Perry in next year's GOP gubernatorial primary, said the Legislature's failure to overhaul school finance in the last several years proves Mr. Perry "is no leader."
Mr. Perry retorted: "To take a broadside like that at every member of this Legislature is irresponsible."
Pay raises blasted
While sponsors touted the school finance bill for providing new money for schools and enacting a battery of needed education changes, opponents said it would do little to improve public schools.
"One bad bill down, one to go," said an e-mail sent by the Texas Federation of Teachers that urged its members to voice their opposition to the school finance measure.
The group called the proposed pay raise "measly" and an "insult to Texas teachers."
Teachers would be guaranteed $1,000 apiece under the proposal – an average 2.5 percent raise – this fall. An additional $500 per teacher would be allocated to school districts, but districts would decide whether to give that money to each teacher or use it for merit pay to reward certain educators.
Leaders of the state's major teacher organizations noted that the $1,000 raise includes $500 that was taken away in 2003 because of a massive revenue shortfall that forced budget cuts across state government.
Next year, the bill would provide no money for another across-the-board raise, but districts would get an extra $500 per teacher for incentive pay programs.
Documents showing how much school districts would receive under the legislation – which often are the key deciding factor for lawmakers' votes – only fueled opposition.
Many poor districts would receive close to a 3 percent boost, the minimum increase that lawmakers promised. The Dallas school district would see its funding increase 4 percent by the 2006-07 school year, while the Highland Park would receive a 9 percent increase.
The additional money projected for Highland Park schools and other property-rich districts is the result of new limits that the bill proposes in Robin Hood revenue sharing by those districts.
"I cannot vote for something that is going to increase the gap between the very wealthiest districts and all the other districts," said Ms. Van de Putte, whose Senate district includes several poorer school districts.
Florence Shapiro, lead Senate negotiator on the proposal, has insisted that it does far more than courts have ordered to equalize funding between rich and poor districts.
"This bill provides more equity in school funding than this state has ever seen," the Plano Republican said.
Staff writers Robert T. Garrett and Christy Hoppe contributed to this report.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com
SPENDING REAUTHORIZED
The House voted Wednesday to send Gov. Rick Perry a bill restoring the $33.6 billion education budget he vetoed when he called lawmakers into special session last month. The move had been intended to help force the House and Senate to reach a deal on school finance and property tax overhaul, but one of the few bills both chambers passed was to reauthorize the spending Mr. Perry cut. It's unclear whether Mr. Perry will sign the measure, but it passed both chambers with enough votes to override another veto. Also, provisions in state law allow for the money to be spent regardless, so schools are certain to open on time.
SCHOOL FUNDING CHANGES
House Bill 2, a form of which is likely to arise in subsequent special sessions, would guarantee a funding increase of about 4 percent over two years. A look at how area districts would fare in 2007 under current law and under House Bill 2:
District Fiscal 2007 revenue per student under current law* Fiscal 2007 revenue per student under HB2* Percentage change
Highland Park $5,768 $ 6,285 8.96%
Cedar Hill $5,477 $ 5,933 8.33%
Celina $5,962 $ 6,438 7.98%
Grand Prairie $5,914 $ 6,350 7.37%
Red Oak $5,712 $ 6,111 6.99%
Arlington $5,552 $ 5,928 6.77%
Wylie $5,313 $ 5,670 6.72%
Birdville $5,801 $ 6,189 6.71%
Lancaster $5,849 $ 6,240 6.68%
Mansfield $5,521 $ 5,877 6.45%
Garland $5,684 $ 6,047 6.39%
Duncanville $5,942 $ 6,318 6.33%
Mesquite $5,777 $ 6,131 6.13%
Lake Dallas $5,584 $ 5,920 6.02%
Irving $5,919 $ 6,275 6.01%
Azle $5,728 $ 6,071 5.99%
DeSoto $5,745 $ 6,087 5.95%
Keller $5,248 $ 5,558 5.91%
McKinney $5,509 $ 5,820 5.66%
Royse City $5,910 $ 6,240 5.58%
Fort Worth $6,236 $ 6,555 5.12%
White Settlement $4,972 $ 5,220 4.99%
Midlothian $5,755 $ 6,037 4.88%
Richardson $6,119 $ 6,392 4.46%
Ennis $6,304 $ 6,583 4.41%
Everman $6,317 $ 6,591 4.34%
Frisco $5,745 $ 5,992 4.32%
Allen $5,455 $ 5,689 4.27%
Denton $6,359 $ 6,628 4.23%
Lewisville $6,224 $ 6,487 4.23%
Plano $6,179 $ 6,440 4.22%
Carrollton-FB $6,529 $ 6,804 4.21%
Northwest $7,327 $ 7,635 4.20%
Coppell $5,838 $ 6,079 4.13%
Carroll $5,951 $ 6,194 4.08%
Hurst-Euless-Bedford $5,987 $ 6,231 4.06%
Wilmer-Hutchins $6,540 $ 6,804 4.04%
Dallas $6,766 $ 7,039 4.03%
Grapevine-Colleyville $5,993 $ 6,232 3.99%
Rockwall $6,447 $ 6,704 3.99%
*Includes only state and local revenue sources.
SOURCE: Texas Legislature
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072105dntexschoolfinance.281c5f1.html
by W. GARDNER SELBY
Thursday, July 21, 2005 / AUSTIN AM-STATESMAN
In this episode of "Behind Closed Doors," we remind you that state legislators closed out a 30-day special session on Wednesday with late tussling mostly taking place out of public view.
A tourist like Jim Huang of Ottawa, Ontario, might expect all the action to happen in the House or Senate chambers, where Huang snapped photos of shiny vacant desks the other day.
Why take a picture of an empty room?
"Good question," Huang told an inquisitor. "Who are you?"
Why, we're the folks with notepads, tape recorders and TV cameras. We try to divine whassup — which is not always easy, pretty or dramatic.
Flash back to Sunday outside the second-floor Governor's Press Conference Room, which has frosted glass-and-wood doors etched with the state seal. The room this day is expected to host House-Senate negotiations on changes in education and school finance law. So reporters loiter outside.
1 p.m.: A door opens, revealing an aide to House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, seated solo at a large rectangular table. He looks a little like he's watching for a helicopter with a rope ladder.
1:15 p.m.: Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington, shows up without a school deal in hand. Grusendorf, referring to Craddick, Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, gibes: "I'm about to go whip all three of the big three."
Out of "stupid" tradition, Grusendorf says, only two of five House negotiators can join such compromise talks at a time, evidently in the spirit of the state's open-meetings law, which bars a quorum of a governing body from acting privately on public business.
But the Senate (which claims it is bound by legislative rules and not state open meetings laws) lets its negotiators pile in. "Puts us at a competitive disadvantage," Grusendorf says. (Denise Davis, House parliamentarian, said later that the House tradition might be revisited between legislative sessions.)
2:25 p.m.: The governor's chief of staff walks past the press pack and enters the room with a one-page document. Unfortunately, your correspondent can't read upside down that fast.
2:50 p.m.: Craddick and an aide stride toward Perry's nearby office; the pack converges.
Reporter: "What's it look like?"
Craddick: "Looks like it may rain."
3:45 p.m.: An aide says Craddick has departed, though Dewhurst and Senate negotiators are now chatting with Perry. No word (ever) on what anyone is saying.
4:15 p.m.: Lobbyists outside the nearby House chamber lack school news but jaw vigorously over who first recorded the 1970 hit "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Bill Withers? No. The Hollies? Yes, as confirmed by a reporter checking by phone with her pa.
Over the rest of the inconclusive day, negotiators scarcely return to the room, though reporters keep their watch. Members drift instead to other Capitol haunts with frosted-glass doors. A few continue huddling as reporters leave the building toward 11 p.m., trusting there is more to come.
wgselby@statesman.com; 445-3644
Find this article at:
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/07/21selby.html
Thursday, July 21, 2005 / AUSTIN AM-STATESMAN
In this episode of "Behind Closed Doors," we remind you that state legislators closed out a 30-day special session on Wednesday with late tussling mostly taking place out of public view.
A tourist like Jim Huang of Ottawa, Ontario, might expect all the action to happen in the House or Senate chambers, where Huang snapped photos of shiny vacant desks the other day.
Why take a picture of an empty room?
"Good question," Huang told an inquisitor. "Who are you?"
Why, we're the folks with notepads, tape recorders and TV cameras. We try to divine whassup — which is not always easy, pretty or dramatic.
Flash back to Sunday outside the second-floor Governor's Press Conference Room, which has frosted glass-and-wood doors etched with the state seal. The room this day is expected to host House-Senate negotiations on changes in education and school finance law. So reporters loiter outside.
1 p.m.: A door opens, revealing an aide to House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, seated solo at a large rectangular table. He looks a little like he's watching for a helicopter with a rope ladder.
1:15 p.m.: Rep. Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington, shows up without a school deal in hand. Grusendorf, referring to Craddick, Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, gibes: "I'm about to go whip all three of the big three."
Out of "stupid" tradition, Grusendorf says, only two of five House negotiators can join such compromise talks at a time, evidently in the spirit of the state's open-meetings law, which bars a quorum of a governing body from acting privately on public business.
But the Senate (which claims it is bound by legislative rules and not state open meetings laws) lets its negotiators pile in. "Puts us at a competitive disadvantage," Grusendorf says. (Denise Davis, House parliamentarian, said later that the House tradition might be revisited between legislative sessions.)
2:25 p.m.: The governor's chief of staff walks past the press pack and enters the room with a one-page document. Unfortunately, your correspondent can't read upside down that fast.
2:50 p.m.: Craddick and an aide stride toward Perry's nearby office; the pack converges.
Reporter: "What's it look like?"
Craddick: "Looks like it may rain."
3:45 p.m.: An aide says Craddick has departed, though Dewhurst and Senate negotiators are now chatting with Perry. No word (ever) on what anyone is saying.
4:15 p.m.: Lobbyists outside the nearby House chamber lack school news but jaw vigorously over who first recorded the 1970 hit "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Bill Withers? No. The Hollies? Yes, as confirmed by a reporter checking by phone with her pa.
Over the rest of the inconclusive day, negotiators scarcely return to the room, though reporters keep their watch. Members drift instead to other Capitol haunts with frosted-glass doors. A few continue huddling as reporters leave the building toward 11 p.m., trusting there is more to come.
wgselby@statesman.com; 445-3644
Find this article at:
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/07/21selby.html
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Spanish Language Here to Stay
July 20, 2005 08:21 AM US Eastern Timezone
Spanish Language Here to Stay; Study Shows Spanish Speakers to Increase 45% in Coming Years
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2005--A Landmark Study titled: "The Future Use Of The Spanish Language In The USA -- Projected to 2015 & 2025" just released by Hispanic U.S.A. Inc. reveals startling results about the dramatic continued growth of Spanish-Speakers in America.
The study challenges the assumption that the use of Spanish will decrease in coming years as succeeding generations of Hispanics are born and grow up in this country. In fact, the study shows that the number of Spanish-dominant and bilingual Latinos will increase by 45 percent over the next two decades - adding 12.4 million Spanish-speakers to today's population.
And it's not just because of continuing immigration. Unlike other immigrant groups, even third-generation Hispanics - those born of Latino parents who themselves were born in the United States - will continue to speak Spanish in extraordinarily large numbers.
"We know that the number of Acculturated Hispanics will continue to grow, but what this study clearly shows, is that Spanish is here to stay, and in a big way. Our study has far-reaching implications from a marketing and media perspective. The fact is that Spanish connects on an emotional and visceral level with Hispanics in a way that English does not. We want to be courted in the language we make love in, for most of us, that would be in Espanol," stated Jose Cancela, Principal of Hispanic USA Inc.
The study, conducted by Roslow Research Group on behalf of Hispanic U.S.A., is based on a comprehensive analysis of census data and national research by multiple internationally recognized institutions, which projects the use of the Spanish Language through the year 2025. "We believe this study sets the record straight as it relates to the future use of the Spanish Language among Hispanics here in the States," stated Peter Roslow, Founder of the Roslow Research Group.
Among its findings:
-- By 2025, the number of Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States will reach 40.2 million, up from 27.8 million today.
-- Fully two-thirds of Hispanics 5 and older will speak Spanish 20 years from now.
-- On average, 35 percent of third-generation Latinos in the United States speak Spanish.
-- The 18-and-older Spanish-speaking population will increase by 53 percent, to 15.2 million by 2025.
-- The key 18-to-49 year old demographic will grow by 7.5 million, and will include 59 percent of all the Spanish speakers.
In addition, the study gives a detailed breakdown of the expected growth of Spanish-speakers in the top 25 Hispanic markets in the country. The projections show striking across-the-board increases of 40 to 55 percent in every one. Los Angeles, the biggest, leads the way in terms of sheer numbers. But such major cities as Boston, Las Vegas and Austin top the charts with an expected 55 percent growth in each. San Diego, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta are close behind.
Spanish Language Here to Stay; Study Shows Spanish Speakers to Increase 45% in Coming Years
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2005--A Landmark Study titled: "The Future Use Of The Spanish Language In The USA -- Projected to 2015 & 2025" just released by Hispanic U.S.A. Inc. reveals startling results about the dramatic continued growth of Spanish-Speakers in America.
The study challenges the assumption that the use of Spanish will decrease in coming years as succeeding generations of Hispanics are born and grow up in this country. In fact, the study shows that the number of Spanish-dominant and bilingual Latinos will increase by 45 percent over the next two decades - adding 12.4 million Spanish-speakers to today's population.
And it's not just because of continuing immigration. Unlike other immigrant groups, even third-generation Hispanics - those born of Latino parents who themselves were born in the United States - will continue to speak Spanish in extraordinarily large numbers.
"We know that the number of Acculturated Hispanics will continue to grow, but what this study clearly shows, is that Spanish is here to stay, and in a big way. Our study has far-reaching implications from a marketing and media perspective. The fact is that Spanish connects on an emotional and visceral level with Hispanics in a way that English does not. We want to be courted in the language we make love in, for most of us, that would be in Espanol," stated Jose Cancela, Principal of Hispanic USA Inc.
The study, conducted by Roslow Research Group on behalf of Hispanic U.S.A., is based on a comprehensive analysis of census data and national research by multiple internationally recognized institutions, which projects the use of the Spanish Language through the year 2025. "We believe this study sets the record straight as it relates to the future use of the Spanish Language among Hispanics here in the States," stated Peter Roslow, Founder of the Roslow Research Group.
Among its findings:
-- By 2025, the number of Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States will reach 40.2 million, up from 27.8 million today.
-- Fully two-thirds of Hispanics 5 and older will speak Spanish 20 years from now.
-- On average, 35 percent of third-generation Latinos in the United States speak Spanish.
-- The 18-and-older Spanish-speaking population will increase by 53 percent, to 15.2 million by 2025.
-- The key 18-to-49 year old demographic will grow by 7.5 million, and will include 59 percent of all the Spanish speakers.
In addition, the study gives a detailed breakdown of the expected growth of Spanish-speakers in the top 25 Hispanic markets in the country. The projections show striking across-the-board increases of 40 to 55 percent in every one. Los Angeles, the biggest, leads the way in terms of sheer numbers. But such major cities as Boston, Las Vegas and Austin top the charts with an expected 55 percent growth in each. San Diego, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta are close behind.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Perry threatens to call another session
Tax negotiations going slowly, although aide hints of deal on schools
10:25 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 19, 2005
By TERRENCE STUTZ and ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry issued a blunt warning to lawmakers Monday – cut a deal on school finance and property taxes or spend August in Austin.
"He is telling them ... that he will call them back if they don't get the job done by Wednesday," said Perry press secretary Kathy Walt, as negotiations were slow-going for yet another day.
Wednesday is the final day of the 30-day session called by Mr. Perry last month. Ms. Walt said that although the governor would decide the precise day to start another session once the current one ends, she added: "Thursday looks like a good day."
DallasNews.com/extra
DiscussLive: Austin bureau chief Christy Hoppe chats about the school finance plan Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
• Submit advance questions
Perry threatens to call another session
Steps to make school finance negotiations private are criticized
More School Finance
Still, there were signs of a possible breakthrough late Monday as aides to the governor said he and legislative leaders had agreed on a plan to boost education funding, increase teacher salaries and enact several education initiatives.
Ms. Walt said Mr. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick "agreed in principle" during a three-hour meeting in the governor's office Monday.
There was no accord, however, on the other major legislation, a tax-swap plan that would lower school property taxes in exchange for higher state taxes on consumers, smokers and some large businesses. And lawmakers reiterated that the bills are too closely linked for one to pass and not the other.
All teachers would receive a $1,500 raise this fall and be eligible for an additional $500 that school districts would decide how to distribute. Next fall, districts would have an additional $1,000 per teacher to distribute, but there would be no across-the-board raise.
Lawmakers would give districts about $2.4 billion in new money over the next two years. That represents an overall increase of about 3.5 percent, with all districts expected to be guaranteed at least 3 percent more funding.
Share-the-wealth cap
House negotiators appeared to have won major concessions from the Senate on "Robin Hood" sharing by property-rich districts, including a 38 percent limit on how much they would have to surrender to poorer districts. The cap would be phased in, limiting the initial windfall for wealthy districts.
The measure also would create a new merit pay program for teachers and establish a mandatory starting date for the school year, the Tuesday after Labor Day. That would not take effect until the fall of 2006.
Most of the changes have virtually no support from educator groups.
"I've got 98 school districts. I haven't had one call me and say, 'Man, we've got to have this,' " said Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria.
Legislative aides said that Mr. Dewhurst and Senate leaders were mulling a proposal by the governor and Mr. Craddick, R-Midland, to raise the state sales tax to 7 percent and for the first time apply the sales tax to auto repairs, bottled water and computer repairs. In addition, the plan would slap the sales tax on all Internet access charges.
The top school property tax rate would fall by about 30 cents over two years.
The initial Senate reaction to the tax offer was less than enthusiastic, some senators said. Democrats have opposed going higher than 6.75 percent – a half-cent increase – and Republicans want to avoid going to 7 percent because that would give Texas the highest state sales tax in the country, along with three other states.
The plan also does not include sales tax credits for the poorest Texans proposed by the Senate.
Filibuster possible
Looming over the last-minute talks were threats by Democrats in the Senate to filibuster both bills.
Senate Democrats quizzed Mr. Dewhurst about procedural rules and voting requirements in the last two days of the special session.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said he had soft-sole shoes ready to wear if he launches a filibuster to try to kill the tax bill. Under the long-standing Senate tradition, a senator can talk legislation to death as long as he can remain standing at his desk on the Senate floor.
.Citing nonpartisan studies indicating that the tax-swap bill would benefit only Texas families earning more than $140,000 a year, the Democrat said: "This legislation is a tax increase on nine of 10 Texans, just so one in 10 Texans – the wealthiest in the state – can have a tax cut."
He also complained about the Legislature's decision to abandon an overhaul of the state's main business tax, the franchise tax. "The business lobbyists have come in here day in and day out, and stripped business taxes from every bill," Mr. Shapleigh said.
House members appeared buffeted by opposition from oil and gas interests and heavy industry, which would see their business tax loopholes closed and not as much property tax relief as they had hoped.
"I just heard there's 89 votes against it," Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, said of the tax bill. The House has 150 members.
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, the Senate's lead negotiator on the tax-swap bill, said: "The business lobby is actively trying to kill this bill over in the House."
Mr. Ogden said the only way to dissuade the governor from calling another session immediately would be for the tax bill to be "voted down decisively" in the House.
He said enough senators support his chamber's version of tax legislation for it to pass, and he scoffed at widespread reports that any version would be soundly defeated in the House.
"I've never seen a case where the speaker couldn't round up the votes – ever," said Mr. Ogden, who spent eight years in the lower chamber.
Meanwhile, the Senate approved a constitutional amendment that would increase the minimum homestead exemption for school property taxes by 50 percent – from $15,000 to $22,500 of the appraised value of each home. The vote was 29-0 on the proposal, which already has been approved by the House.
Democrats sought to increase the exemption to $30,000 but were outvoted by the Republican majority.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com and rtgarrett@dallasnews.com
SCHOOL FINANCE DEVELOPMENTS
WHAT HAPPENED
Lawmakers struggled to reach agreement on several provisions, including limits on "Robin Hood" wealth-sharing and what to include in an expanded sales tax.
WHAT'S NEXT
Gov. Rick Perry is threatening to order another 30-day special session. The state Supreme Court is considering an appeal of a court's ruling that would shut schools down Oct. 1 if funding isn't increased.
FOR THE SCHOOLS
Mr. Perry vetoed the entire state education budget, but lawmakers are close to passing those bills again. Plus, provisions in state law allow for the money to be spent anyway, so schools will almost certainly start on time and see no immediate effect, lawmakers say.
10:25 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 19, 2005
By TERRENCE STUTZ and ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry issued a blunt warning to lawmakers Monday – cut a deal on school finance and property taxes or spend August in Austin.
"He is telling them ... that he will call them back if they don't get the job done by Wednesday," said Perry press secretary Kathy Walt, as negotiations were slow-going for yet another day.
Wednesday is the final day of the 30-day session called by Mr. Perry last month. Ms. Walt said that although the governor would decide the precise day to start another session once the current one ends, she added: "Thursday looks like a good day."
DallasNews.com/extra
DiscussLive: Austin bureau chief Christy Hoppe chats about the school finance plan Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
• Submit advance questions
Perry threatens to call another session
Steps to make school finance negotiations private are criticized
More School Finance
Still, there were signs of a possible breakthrough late Monday as aides to the governor said he and legislative leaders had agreed on a plan to boost education funding, increase teacher salaries and enact several education initiatives.
Ms. Walt said Mr. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick "agreed in principle" during a three-hour meeting in the governor's office Monday.
There was no accord, however, on the other major legislation, a tax-swap plan that would lower school property taxes in exchange for higher state taxes on consumers, smokers and some large businesses. And lawmakers reiterated that the bills are too closely linked for one to pass and not the other.
All teachers would receive a $1,500 raise this fall and be eligible for an additional $500 that school districts would decide how to distribute. Next fall, districts would have an additional $1,000 per teacher to distribute, but there would be no across-the-board raise.
Lawmakers would give districts about $2.4 billion in new money over the next two years. That represents an overall increase of about 3.5 percent, with all districts expected to be guaranteed at least 3 percent more funding.
Share-the-wealth cap
House negotiators appeared to have won major concessions from the Senate on "Robin Hood" sharing by property-rich districts, including a 38 percent limit on how much they would have to surrender to poorer districts. The cap would be phased in, limiting the initial windfall for wealthy districts.
The measure also would create a new merit pay program for teachers and establish a mandatory starting date for the school year, the Tuesday after Labor Day. That would not take effect until the fall of 2006.
Most of the changes have virtually no support from educator groups.
"I've got 98 school districts. I haven't had one call me and say, 'Man, we've got to have this,' " said Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria.
Legislative aides said that Mr. Dewhurst and Senate leaders were mulling a proposal by the governor and Mr. Craddick, R-Midland, to raise the state sales tax to 7 percent and for the first time apply the sales tax to auto repairs, bottled water and computer repairs. In addition, the plan would slap the sales tax on all Internet access charges.
The top school property tax rate would fall by about 30 cents over two years.
The initial Senate reaction to the tax offer was less than enthusiastic, some senators said. Democrats have opposed going higher than 6.75 percent – a half-cent increase – and Republicans want to avoid going to 7 percent because that would give Texas the highest state sales tax in the country, along with three other states.
The plan also does not include sales tax credits for the poorest Texans proposed by the Senate.
Filibuster possible
Looming over the last-minute talks were threats by Democrats in the Senate to filibuster both bills.
Senate Democrats quizzed Mr. Dewhurst about procedural rules and voting requirements in the last two days of the special session.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said he had soft-sole shoes ready to wear if he launches a filibuster to try to kill the tax bill. Under the long-standing Senate tradition, a senator can talk legislation to death as long as he can remain standing at his desk on the Senate floor.
.Citing nonpartisan studies indicating that the tax-swap bill would benefit only Texas families earning more than $140,000 a year, the Democrat said: "This legislation is a tax increase on nine of 10 Texans, just so one in 10 Texans – the wealthiest in the state – can have a tax cut."
He also complained about the Legislature's decision to abandon an overhaul of the state's main business tax, the franchise tax. "The business lobbyists have come in here day in and day out, and stripped business taxes from every bill," Mr. Shapleigh said.
House members appeared buffeted by opposition from oil and gas interests and heavy industry, which would see their business tax loopholes closed and not as much property tax relief as they had hoped.
"I just heard there's 89 votes against it," Rep. Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas, said of the tax bill. The House has 150 members.
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, the Senate's lead negotiator on the tax-swap bill, said: "The business lobby is actively trying to kill this bill over in the House."
Mr. Ogden said the only way to dissuade the governor from calling another session immediately would be for the tax bill to be "voted down decisively" in the House.
He said enough senators support his chamber's version of tax legislation for it to pass, and he scoffed at widespread reports that any version would be soundly defeated in the House.
"I've never seen a case where the speaker couldn't round up the votes – ever," said Mr. Ogden, who spent eight years in the lower chamber.
Meanwhile, the Senate approved a constitutional amendment that would increase the minimum homestead exemption for school property taxes by 50 percent – from $15,000 to $22,500 of the appraised value of each home. The vote was 29-0 on the proposal, which already has been approved by the House.
Democrats sought to increase the exemption to $30,000 but were outvoted by the Republican majority.
E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com and rtgarrett@dallasnews.com
SCHOOL FINANCE DEVELOPMENTS
WHAT HAPPENED
Lawmakers struggled to reach agreement on several provisions, including limits on "Robin Hood" wealth-sharing and what to include in an expanded sales tax.
WHAT'S NEXT
Gov. Rick Perry is threatening to order another 30-day special session. The state Supreme Court is considering an appeal of a court's ruling that would shut schools down Oct. 1 if funding isn't increased.
FOR THE SCHOOLS
Mr. Perry vetoed the entire state education budget, but lawmakers are close to passing those bills again. Plus, provisions in state law allow for the money to be spent anyway, so schools will almost certainly start on time and see no immediate effect, lawmakers say.
Vouchers sought for W-H students
Tue, Jul. 19, 2005
By Nathaniel Jones
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS - Officials with Liberty Legal Institute said Monday they will ask Gov. Rick Perry for state money to fund vouchers for the 2,900 students in the Wilmer-Hutchins school district.
Wilmer-Hutchins' state-appointed board has voted to close the district for at least a year while it tries to sort out financial and educational problems. The district has been accused of cheating on standardized tests and of financial mismanagement.
The Dallas school district likely will be home for the Wilmer-Hutchins students next year after the Lancaster district rejected a proposal to accept them.
The Dallas district is adjacent to the Wilmer-Hutchins district in southern Dallas County.
Vouchers would give parents in Wilmer-Hutchins the choice of where they want their children to be educated, said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute.
"This is better than auctioning them off to the highest bidder," he said.
Because the state does not currently fund vouchers, Sasser said the group will seek an executive order from Perry.
Liberty Legal officials met with Wilmer-Hutchins parents Monday night to discuss the proposal. Liberty Legal is best known for taking on religious freedom cases, but Sasser said the organization was asked by a group of Wilmer-Hutchins parents to get involved.
At issue is the $6,500 per student Dallas school officials said it needed to merge Wilmer-Hutchins students with the Dallas school district.
The Dallas school officials and the Texas Education Agency are currently working on a plan to fund that merger.
Sasser said the state needs to take that money and use it on vouchers so that students can attend any school they choose.
Former Wilmer-Hutchins Superintendent Charles Mathews, who led the school district into turmoil, stood behind members of the Liberty Legal Institute to announce their request to Perry.
"This cuts down on the focus on the administration and allows teachers to teach our children," Mathews said. "I live in this district, I pay taxes here, and I want to do what's best for the students."
Matthews was indicted in March on charges of tampering with evidence and could face additional criminal charges related to the downfall of Wilmer-Hutchins district. He predicted Monday that he would be cleared of all charges.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nathaniel Jones, (972) 263-4448 njones@star-telegram.com
By Nathaniel Jones
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
DALLAS - Officials with Liberty Legal Institute said Monday they will ask Gov. Rick Perry for state money to fund vouchers for the 2,900 students in the Wilmer-Hutchins school district.
Wilmer-Hutchins' state-appointed board has voted to close the district for at least a year while it tries to sort out financial and educational problems. The district has been accused of cheating on standardized tests and of financial mismanagement.
The Dallas school district likely will be home for the Wilmer-Hutchins students next year after the Lancaster district rejected a proposal to accept them.
The Dallas district is adjacent to the Wilmer-Hutchins district in southern Dallas County.
Vouchers would give parents in Wilmer-Hutchins the choice of where they want their children to be educated, said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for the Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute.
"This is better than auctioning them off to the highest bidder," he said.
Because the state does not currently fund vouchers, Sasser said the group will seek an executive order from Perry.
Liberty Legal officials met with Wilmer-Hutchins parents Monday night to discuss the proposal. Liberty Legal is best known for taking on religious freedom cases, but Sasser said the organization was asked by a group of Wilmer-Hutchins parents to get involved.
At issue is the $6,500 per student Dallas school officials said it needed to merge Wilmer-Hutchins students with the Dallas school district.
The Dallas school officials and the Texas Education Agency are currently working on a plan to fund that merger.
Sasser said the state needs to take that money and use it on vouchers so that students can attend any school they choose.
Former Wilmer-Hutchins Superintendent Charles Mathews, who led the school district into turmoil, stood behind members of the Liberty Legal Institute to announce their request to Perry.
"This cuts down on the focus on the administration and allows teachers to teach our children," Mathews said. "I live in this district, I pay taxes here, and I want to do what's best for the students."
Matthews was indicted in March on charges of tampering with evidence and could face additional criminal charges related to the downfall of Wilmer-Hutchins district. He predicted Monday that he would be cleared of all charges.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nathaniel Jones, (972) 263-4448 njones@star-telegram.com
So, which is better: Bad bill or no bill?
Editorial?
Web Posted: 07/19/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Which is better, a bad school finance bill or no bill at all?
For our money, the answer is no bill at all.
Should the Texas Legislature, in the waning days of this special session, rush through compromise legislation similar to the bills passed by the House and Senate, it will damage the average Texan and public education while legislative leaders will declare victory and go home. That's the worst outcome.
If no bill passes, lawmakers' failure will be apparent to all Texans, and any equitable solution to the school funding problem will be left to the courts or another special session.
While some people thought that bringing this Legislature back to try to solve a problem they could not solve this spring was a waste of time, we disagreed.
But the legislative solution the lawmakers are now considering doesn't reform the tax system or make school financing equitable.
Instead, it exempts a broad group of businesses — partnerships — from taxation and raises the sales tax, which already is one of the highest in the nation. The Senate and House produced bills that are unfair and inadequate.
The analyses of groups who have studied the proposals suggest that the wealthy benefit and the middle class and less affluent pay.
After watching this governor and this Legislature over the past few years, we sadly have reached the conclusion that they are unable to govern effectively.
They may enjoy small successes, but on the big issues — which they face now — they are unable to solve the state's problems.
If, at the last minute, they pull a bill out, that doesn't mean they have succeeded. That only means they will try to convince citizens that a sow's ear is a silk purse.
Don't let them fool you.
Web Posted: 07/19/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Which is better, a bad school finance bill or no bill at all?
For our money, the answer is no bill at all.
Should the Texas Legislature, in the waning days of this special session, rush through compromise legislation similar to the bills passed by the House and Senate, it will damage the average Texan and public education while legislative leaders will declare victory and go home. That's the worst outcome.
If no bill passes, lawmakers' failure will be apparent to all Texans, and any equitable solution to the school funding problem will be left to the courts or another special session.
While some people thought that bringing this Legislature back to try to solve a problem they could not solve this spring was a waste of time, we disagreed.
But the legislative solution the lawmakers are now considering doesn't reform the tax system or make school financing equitable.
Instead, it exempts a broad group of businesses — partnerships — from taxation and raises the sales tax, which already is one of the highest in the nation. The Senate and House produced bills that are unfair and inadequate.
The analyses of groups who have studied the proposals suggest that the wealthy benefit and the middle class and less affluent pay.
After watching this governor and this Legislature over the past few years, we sadly have reached the conclusion that they are unable to govern effectively.
They may enjoy small successes, but on the big issues — which they face now — they are unable to solve the state's problems.
If, at the last minute, they pull a bill out, that doesn't mean they have succeeded. That only means they will try to convince citizens that a sow's ear is a silk purse.
Don't let them fool you.
Top leaders agree 'in principle' on schools
July 19, 2005, 12:43PM
But Perry may still have to call a second special session on the bill
By CLAY ROBISON and JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry and the top House and Senate leaders met for three hours late Monday to try to salvage agreements on school property tax relief and education funding during the closing hours of the special session.
The governor's office announced that an "agreement in principle" had been reached between Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on an education bill.
But with lawmakers facing an adjournment deadline on Wednesday, expectations nevertheless increased that Perry may call a second special session, beginning as early as Thursday, to achieve his goal of school property tax relief.
Sources close to the private negotiations said the education compromise included teacher pay raises of $1,500 this year and another $2,000 in 2006-07 and a phased-in limit on the amount of local tax money the wealthiest school districts have to share with poor schools.
The latter provision had been a major sticking point in House-Senate negotiations.
The same sources also reported that Perry and Craddick had agreed to a tax package that would include an increase of three-quarters of a cent per dollar in the sales tax and cuts in local school taxes totaling 35 cents per $100 valuation, phased in over the next two years, with an increase in the homestead exemption.
Dewhurst was reportedly taking the package back to Senate conferees for consideration.
But the tax trade-off bill was threatened by the likelihood of a Senate filibuster and heavy lobbying efforts against it by some businesses.
Spokeswoman Kathy Walt said Perry would call another special session, beginning on Thursday, if the tax trade-off is killed by a filibuster.
She said he may also call another session if his goal of property tax cuts fails for any other reason.
"If we don't have an agreement, the governor has told us to expect to be here (for another session)," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, a negotiator on the education bill.
The only way Perry might not call a special session is if the entire House votes down a tax trade-off bill, two Senate tax negotiators — Sens. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, and Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria — agreed.
Craddick issued a written statement, saying he was "hopeful" that the House could pass both the education and tax compromises, if Senate negotiators agreed.
But there was widespread speculation that there weren't enough votes in the Republican-dominated House to pass a tax agreement that would give Texas one of the highest sales tax rates in the country — 9 cents per dollar, including local sales taxes in cities such as Houston.
Higher sales tax?
The tax compromise endorsed by Perry and Craddick also would close loopholes in the corporate franchise tax, raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack and add bottled water, auto repair services, computer repairs and Internet access to the sales tax, according to the informed sources.
Some lobbyists and legislators said they had unconfirmed reports that a strong majority — more than 80 members of the 149 — would vote against the tax bill.
Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, the chief House tax conferee, said he had "no earthly idea" how many House members would vote for the bill, if given the opportunity.
The House passed a similar bill by only one vote last month, and many Republicans may be reluctant to vote for it again, for fear of drawing opponents in next year's GOP primary if it becomes law.
"They (Republicans) built their party into the dominant party in Texas based on campaigns against taxes," Armbrister noted.
Additionally, lobbying pressure from parts of the business community has stepped up in recent days.
Opposition to bill
Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been running a radio ad campaign against the tax package, which includes a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax.
And a number of refineries and oil and gas companies were lobbying against the tax package because — by merely closing loopholes in the franchise tax — it continued to single out corporations rather than broadening the business tax base to most partnerships as well.
One business lobbyist, who didn't want to be identified, even speculated that Craddick could instruct the House conferees to strike a deal on the tax bill and then allow the full House to kill it.
The tax trade-off is similar to a plan initially proposed by Perry. During a special session last year, the House, angry at Perry's threatened veto of a business payroll tax, similarly killed an earlier proposal of the governor.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said he will filibuster against any tax agreement that includes more than a half-cent per dollar increase in the sales tax, which would have a heavier impact on the poor than on wealthier Texans.
Filibuster possible
"I think people need to stand up now, now's the time to do it and say, 'Just say no to this proposal,' " Shapleigh said.
"House Bill 3 is a tax increase on nine in 10 Texans, just so one in 10 Texans can have a tax cut," he added.
A proposed constitutional amendment increasing the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $22,500 was passed by the Senate Monday. If the measure is passed by the House, it would go to voters in November.
The homestead exemption increase would be in addition to a cut in the maximum school property tax rate. The amount of that reduction is a key issue.
Armbrister said any bill that isn't ready for floor debate by noon today could be killed by a filibuster, which allows a senator to hold the floor against a bill for as long as he or she can stand and talk. The longest filibuster on record in the Texas Senate is 43 hours on a workers compensation bill in 1977.
clay.robison@chron.com janet.elliott@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3271589
But Perry may still have to call a second special session on the bill
By CLAY ROBISON and JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry and the top House and Senate leaders met for three hours late Monday to try to salvage agreements on school property tax relief and education funding during the closing hours of the special session.
The governor's office announced that an "agreement in principle" had been reached between Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on an education bill.
But with lawmakers facing an adjournment deadline on Wednesday, expectations nevertheless increased that Perry may call a second special session, beginning as early as Thursday, to achieve his goal of school property tax relief.
Sources close to the private negotiations said the education compromise included teacher pay raises of $1,500 this year and another $2,000 in 2006-07 and a phased-in limit on the amount of local tax money the wealthiest school districts have to share with poor schools.
The latter provision had been a major sticking point in House-Senate negotiations.
The same sources also reported that Perry and Craddick had agreed to a tax package that would include an increase of three-quarters of a cent per dollar in the sales tax and cuts in local school taxes totaling 35 cents per $100 valuation, phased in over the next two years, with an increase in the homestead exemption.
Dewhurst was reportedly taking the package back to Senate conferees for consideration.
But the tax trade-off bill was threatened by the likelihood of a Senate filibuster and heavy lobbying efforts against it by some businesses.
Spokeswoman Kathy Walt said Perry would call another special session, beginning on Thursday, if the tax trade-off is killed by a filibuster.
She said he may also call another session if his goal of property tax cuts fails for any other reason.
"If we don't have an agreement, the governor has told us to expect to be here (for another session)," said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, a negotiator on the education bill.
The only way Perry might not call a special session is if the entire House votes down a tax trade-off bill, two Senate tax negotiators — Sens. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, and Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria — agreed.
Craddick issued a written statement, saying he was "hopeful" that the House could pass both the education and tax compromises, if Senate negotiators agreed.
But there was widespread speculation that there weren't enough votes in the Republican-dominated House to pass a tax agreement that would give Texas one of the highest sales tax rates in the country — 9 cents per dollar, including local sales taxes in cities such as Houston.
Higher sales tax?
The tax compromise endorsed by Perry and Craddick also would close loopholes in the corporate franchise tax, raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack and add bottled water, auto repair services, computer repairs and Internet access to the sales tax, according to the informed sources.
Some lobbyists and legislators said they had unconfirmed reports that a strong majority — more than 80 members of the 149 — would vote against the tax bill.
Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, the chief House tax conferee, said he had "no earthly idea" how many House members would vote for the bill, if given the opportunity.
The House passed a similar bill by only one vote last month, and many Republicans may be reluctant to vote for it again, for fear of drawing opponents in next year's GOP primary if it becomes law.
"They (Republicans) built their party into the dominant party in Texas based on campaigns against taxes," Armbrister noted.
Additionally, lobbying pressure from parts of the business community has stepped up in recent days.
Opposition to bill
Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been running a radio ad campaign against the tax package, which includes a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax.
And a number of refineries and oil and gas companies were lobbying against the tax package because — by merely closing loopholes in the franchise tax — it continued to single out corporations rather than broadening the business tax base to most partnerships as well.
One business lobbyist, who didn't want to be identified, even speculated that Craddick could instruct the House conferees to strike a deal on the tax bill and then allow the full House to kill it.
The tax trade-off is similar to a plan initially proposed by Perry. During a special session last year, the House, angry at Perry's threatened veto of a business payroll tax, similarly killed an earlier proposal of the governor.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said he will filibuster against any tax agreement that includes more than a half-cent per dollar increase in the sales tax, which would have a heavier impact on the poor than on wealthier Texans.
Filibuster possible
"I think people need to stand up now, now's the time to do it and say, 'Just say no to this proposal,' " Shapleigh said.
"House Bill 3 is a tax increase on nine in 10 Texans, just so one in 10 Texans can have a tax cut," he added.
A proposed constitutional amendment increasing the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $22,500 was passed by the Senate Monday. If the measure is passed by the House, it would go to voters in November.
The homestead exemption increase would be in addition to a cut in the maximum school property tax rate. The amount of that reduction is a key issue.
Armbrister said any bill that isn't ready for floor debate by noon today could be killed by a filibuster, which allows a senator to hold the floor against a bill for as long as he or she can stand and talk. The longest filibuster on record in the Texas Senate is 43 hours on a workers compensation bill in 1977.
clay.robison@chron.com janet.elliott@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3271589
Law Requires Lessons on Constitution
Federal Workers, Students Affected
By Valerie Strauss and Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 19, 2005; A01
It's not often that first-graders, CIA agents, agriculture inspectors and airport security workers from coast to coast all receive a lesson on the same topic -- and on the same day -- but that is what's in store this September.
The subject is the U.S. Constitution, thanks to a new law fathered by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is worried that so many people don't know the first thing about the country's governing document that he decided to try to make sure they do.
Tucked into a massive appropriations bill approved without fanfare late last year by Congress is the requirement that every one of the estimated 1.8 million federal employees in the executive branch receive "educational and training" materials about the charter on Constitution Day, a holiday celebrating the Sept. 17, 1787, signing that is so obscure that it, unlike Arbor Day, is left off many calendars.
That's not all: The law requires every school that receives federal funds -- including universities -- to show students a program on the Constitution, though it does not specify a particular one. The demand has proved unpopular with educators, who say that they don't like the federal government telling them what to teach and that it doesn't make the best educational sense to teach something as important as the Constitution out of context.
"We already cover the Constitution up, down and around," said August Frattali, principal of Rachel Carson Middle School in Fairfax County. But, he chuckled, "I'm going to follow the mandates. I don't want to get fired."
Mark Stout, social studies coordinator for Howard County public schools, had a similar reaction when asked whether he would create a new program for the holiday: "We already have one of those. It's called our curriculum." Still, he too will advise schools how to comply.
Byrd was not available for comment, but his spokesman, Tom Gavin, said many teachers had called the senator to thank him for creating this opportunity to teach the Constitution. The law offers some leeway if the holiday falls on a weekend, as it does this September. Some agencies and schools will be carrying it out during the week before, others the week after.
Byrd, who prides himself on being the Senate's unofficial constitutional scholar, is expected to appear today at the National Archives when representatives from various federal departments and agencies meet to celebrate the launch of the "Constitution Initiative," according to Mike Beckman, acting deputy associate director for the Center for Leadership Capacity Services in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Gavin said Byrd was motivated to pursue the law by long-standing concerns about the state of civic education in the country, fueled by surveys showing that many Americans have a better understanding of the intricacies of "American Idol" than they do about the foundations of their government.
According to Al Frascella, director of communications and government relations for the nonprofit National Council on the Social Studies, all but a few states require civic education as a high school graduation requirement, although the quality of the programs is uneven. He said schools across the country are approaching the new law in different ways.
"Some are taking it seriously and some aren't," he said. "The key, of course, is enforcement, and there isn't any. There is no provision to enforce it."
Spokesmen for various federal agencies said yesterday that they were not sure how the law would be implemented.
Educators have received guidance from the Department of Education about how to implement the law and have been directed to various Web sites with lessons and information about the Constitution from which they can craft programs. The law offers no money to help with the lessons.
There seems, however, to be some confusion about exactly what the law requires.
Frascella said he reads it as meaning every student in every school must participate. At American University, a private school that nevertheless receives federal funds (and where Byrd graduated from law school), Haig Mardirosian, associate dean of academic affairs, said AU will offer students the opportunity to attend a symposium at which First Amendment scholars and educators will speak, and it will be telecast to different locations on campus. In Fairfax, Alice Reilly, K-12 social studies coordinator for the county school system, said it will be up to individual educators to decide how to craft their lessons.
Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the Arlington-based First Amendment Center, said the exercise in education seemed an "artificial way" to teach the essential subject.
"My concern is that this will be seen as a quick fix to a deeper problem," he said. "The problem isn't that we don't celebrate the Constitution. The problem is that we don't live it enough in our schools. . . . so the message to kids is that preparing for life in a democracy is not a high priority."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801585.html
By Valerie Strauss and Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 19, 2005; A01
It's not often that first-graders, CIA agents, agriculture inspectors and airport security workers from coast to coast all receive a lesson on the same topic -- and on the same day -- but that is what's in store this September.
The subject is the U.S. Constitution, thanks to a new law fathered by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is worried that so many people don't know the first thing about the country's governing document that he decided to try to make sure they do.
Tucked into a massive appropriations bill approved without fanfare late last year by Congress is the requirement that every one of the estimated 1.8 million federal employees in the executive branch receive "educational and training" materials about the charter on Constitution Day, a holiday celebrating the Sept. 17, 1787, signing that is so obscure that it, unlike Arbor Day, is left off many calendars.
That's not all: The law requires every school that receives federal funds -- including universities -- to show students a program on the Constitution, though it does not specify a particular one. The demand has proved unpopular with educators, who say that they don't like the federal government telling them what to teach and that it doesn't make the best educational sense to teach something as important as the Constitution out of context.
"We already cover the Constitution up, down and around," said August Frattali, principal of Rachel Carson Middle School in Fairfax County. But, he chuckled, "I'm going to follow the mandates. I don't want to get fired."
Mark Stout, social studies coordinator for Howard County public schools, had a similar reaction when asked whether he would create a new program for the holiday: "We already have one of those. It's called our curriculum." Still, he too will advise schools how to comply.
Byrd was not available for comment, but his spokesman, Tom Gavin, said many teachers had called the senator to thank him for creating this opportunity to teach the Constitution. The law offers some leeway if the holiday falls on a weekend, as it does this September. Some agencies and schools will be carrying it out during the week before, others the week after.
Byrd, who prides himself on being the Senate's unofficial constitutional scholar, is expected to appear today at the National Archives when representatives from various federal departments and agencies meet to celebrate the launch of the "Constitution Initiative," according to Mike Beckman, acting deputy associate director for the Center for Leadership Capacity Services in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Gavin said Byrd was motivated to pursue the law by long-standing concerns about the state of civic education in the country, fueled by surveys showing that many Americans have a better understanding of the intricacies of "American Idol" than they do about the foundations of their government.
According to Al Frascella, director of communications and government relations for the nonprofit National Council on the Social Studies, all but a few states require civic education as a high school graduation requirement, although the quality of the programs is uneven. He said schools across the country are approaching the new law in different ways.
"Some are taking it seriously and some aren't," he said. "The key, of course, is enforcement, and there isn't any. There is no provision to enforce it."
Spokesmen for various federal agencies said yesterday that they were not sure how the law would be implemented.
Educators have received guidance from the Department of Education about how to implement the law and have been directed to various Web sites with lessons and information about the Constitution from which they can craft programs. The law offers no money to help with the lessons.
There seems, however, to be some confusion about exactly what the law requires.
Frascella said he reads it as meaning every student in every school must participate. At American University, a private school that nevertheless receives federal funds (and where Byrd graduated from law school), Haig Mardirosian, associate dean of academic affairs, said AU will offer students the opportunity to attend a symposium at which First Amendment scholars and educators will speak, and it will be telecast to different locations on campus. In Fairfax, Alice Reilly, K-12 social studies coordinator for the county school system, said it will be up to individual educators to decide how to craft their lessons.
Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the Arlington-based First Amendment Center, said the exercise in education seemed an "artificial way" to teach the essential subject.
"My concern is that this will be seen as a quick fix to a deeper problem," he said. "The problem isn't that we don't celebrate the Constitution. The problem is that we don't live it enough in our schools. . . . so the message to kids is that preparing for life in a democracy is not a high priority."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/18/AR2005071801585.html
Spellings, Clinton disagree on Hispanics
It's amazing how the dropout rate is systematically ignored in reports on the gap. Simultaneously, discussions on dropouts and dropout rates—such as the recent one by the National Governors Association—fail to address either the gap or the relation of dropout rates to it. Not that all of the variation in scores can be accounted for by dropout rates, but rather that they are a contributing factor, especially when pernicious incentives exist in our state accountability systems to marginalize those children who become "liabilities" to school ratings. I often wonder why these combined factors fail to either be addressed or make news. Another observation is the way in which race/ethnicity are rendered invisible by this discourse on both the gap and dropout rates.
Check out this Dallas Morning News article involving an interview with Spellings Our nation's schoolwork. Consistent with her stated position on this in an apparent debate over the effects of NCLB w/Hillary Clinton at the NCLR conference (see previous post), Spellings maintains that NCLB is paying off.
-Angela
USA Today
by Joseph Kaczmarek, AP
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Monday the "achievement gap is beginning to close" between Hispanic and white students, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton countered that she's not convinced the federal government is doing enough to help Hispanic youth get through school.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza.
Spellings and Clinton each spoke at the convention of the National Council of La Raza, a four-day event that ends Tuesday.
The two did not dispute statistics that show Latino students have the nation's highest high school dropout rate and the lowest college enrollment rate, but diverged on whether the government is fixing the problem.
Praising No Child Left Behind, the education law President Bush signed in January 2002, Spellings pointed to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores released Thursday that show 9-year-olds, including Hispanics, have improved their reading and math scores.
"These results did not come out of thin air," Spellings said. "They came from a commitment to doing something that's never been done before, a commitment to giving every child a quality education."
"The achievement gap is beginning to close," she said.
But minutes later, the Democratic senator told the same group: "You are doing your part, but I don't know that your government is doing its part right now."
Clinton stressed that, though younger students' scores have improved, 17-year-olds have made virtually no gains since the tests first started being given 30 years ago.
"I'm not sure that we are doing everything we should to make your job easier, to make sure that the opportunity society is alive and well for everyone," she said.
Linda L. Silva, a Democratic organizer and advocate for Latinos in Concord County, Pa., stood with hundreds of others to applaud Clinton, particularly when the senator called for policy changes that would allow undocumented immigrant students to receive college aid. Silva said she hopes to see Clinton enter the race for president in 2008. "There's no one else in America who has more integrity today," she said.
The welcome for Spellings was more muted.
Washington-based La Raza was founded in Phoenix in 1968 as a Mexican-American civil rights group and now is the nation's largest advocacy group for Hispanics. It represents 4 million members in 300 affiliates across the country.
Minutes after the speeches ended, eight people who said they want tighter controls on immigration walked into the Pennsylvania Convention Center where the meeting is being held wearing T-shirts and caps saying "U.S. Border Patrol," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of La Raza. They were escorted from the building without incident, Munoz said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-18-spellings-clinton-hispanics_x.htm
Check out this Dallas Morning News article involving an interview with Spellings Our nation's schoolwork. Consistent with her stated position on this in an apparent debate over the effects of NCLB w/Hillary Clinton at the NCLR conference (see previous post), Spellings maintains that NCLB is paying off.
-Angela
USA Today
by Joseph Kaczmarek, AP
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Monday the "achievement gap is beginning to close" between Hispanic and white students, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton countered that she's not convinced the federal government is doing enough to help Hispanic youth get through school.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza.
Spellings and Clinton each spoke at the convention of the National Council of La Raza, a four-day event that ends Tuesday.
The two did not dispute statistics that show Latino students have the nation's highest high school dropout rate and the lowest college enrollment rate, but diverged on whether the government is fixing the problem.
Praising No Child Left Behind, the education law President Bush signed in January 2002, Spellings pointed to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores released Thursday that show 9-year-olds, including Hispanics, have improved their reading and math scores.
"These results did not come out of thin air," Spellings said. "They came from a commitment to doing something that's never been done before, a commitment to giving every child a quality education."
"The achievement gap is beginning to close," she said.
But minutes later, the Democratic senator told the same group: "You are doing your part, but I don't know that your government is doing its part right now."
Clinton stressed that, though younger students' scores have improved, 17-year-olds have made virtually no gains since the tests first started being given 30 years ago.
"I'm not sure that we are doing everything we should to make your job easier, to make sure that the opportunity society is alive and well for everyone," she said.
Linda L. Silva, a Democratic organizer and advocate for Latinos in Concord County, Pa., stood with hundreds of others to applaud Clinton, particularly when the senator called for policy changes that would allow undocumented immigrant students to receive college aid. Silva said she hopes to see Clinton enter the race for president in 2008. "There's no one else in America who has more integrity today," she said.
The welcome for Spellings was more muted.
Washington-based La Raza was founded in Phoenix in 1968 as a Mexican-American civil rights group and now is the nation's largest advocacy group for Hispanics. It represents 4 million members in 300 affiliates across the country.
Minutes after the speeches ended, eight people who said they want tighter controls on immigration walked into the Pennsylvania Convention Center where the meeting is being held wearing T-shirts and caps saying "U.S. Border Patrol," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of La Raza. They were escorted from the building without incident, Munoz said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-07-18-spellings-clinton-hispanics_x.htm
Senate leaves Capitol without tax bill
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Upper chamber won't budge on sales tax; it doesn't appear a deal can be made by session's end.
by Mike Ward, Jason Embry / AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state senators abruptly left the Capitol on Monday night without a deal on overhauling the state's school finance system, fueling speculation that Gov. Rick Perry will call another special session if a deal is not reached before midnight Wednesday.
The senators' decision came about an hour after Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick had reportedly signed off on a plan that would raise the state sales tax to 7 percent, up from 6.25 percent. Senators have repeatedly rejected such a steep increase, saying it would hurt low-income Texans.
Dewhurst was asked Monday night if the Senate would approve such a plan.
"No," he said as he was leaving the Capitol.
"We're leaving tonight. We're going to send them a good bill in the morning, a bill that doesn't raise the sales tax higher than it should be and does not unfairly shift taxes from businesses to consumers."
The special session ends Wednesday night, but internal legislative rules — and a threatened filibuster in the Senate over the sales tax increase — make it difficult for lawmakers to agree to and approve any final plan today or Wednesday.
The 10 p.m. blowup overshadowed a deal that Dewhurst, Perry and Craddick had reached earlier in the night on the other half of school finance reform: education spending.
That plan called for boosting spending on public schools by more than $2 billion over two years, granting across-the-board teacher pay raises and capping the amount of money that property-wealthy districts send to poorer districts.
"The governor is very hopeful that we are in the final stretch of getting passage of a historic piece of legislation," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
Perry, Dewhurst and Craddick reached the education spending deal after meeting for three hours Monday to hash out differences over school finance reform.
Sources close to the negotiations said Perry and Craddick had also agreed on the tax swap plan in the meeting and that Dewhurst agreed to review it with senators.
"The ball is in the Senate's court," said a source, who did not want to be identified for fear of disrupting the negotiations.
But senators' responses were swift and severe.
"They've got people trying to box the Senate in, and the Senate is not going to be boxed," said Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria and a key negotiator. "No one ever got hurt in an election year by killing a tax bill."
Perry has said he will call another 30-day session if this one ends without agreement on school finance.
The state's current system, which sends money from property-wealthy districts to poorer districts, has been ruled unconstitutional by a state judge and is being reviewed by the Texas Supreme Court.
Lawmakers were unsuccessful during the regular legislative session in crafting a new plan, prompting Perry to call them back to Austin for another try last month.
"The governor has said if they don't finish their work, we're coming back," Perry spokesman Robert Black said earlier Monday. "This is the number one issue the Legislature faces, and they must deal with it."
Asked when Perry would call them back, Black said, "One step at a time, but Thursday looks like a good day."
Sources said the compromise version of House Bill 2, the education spending plan, would:
•Push back the first day of school until after Labor Day, beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
•Include money for across-the-board pay raises of $1,500 per teacher this year. It would also give districts enough money to grant teachers additional raises averaging $500 this year and again next year, though the districts would decide for themselves exactly how to distribute that money.
•Cap the amount of money that property-wealthy districts, such as Eanes in Central Texas, sends to the state to be used by other districts as part of the share-the-wealth school finance system. No details were immediately available on what the cap would be or how much extra money Eanes could keep.
A few districts send as much as 70 percent of their local money through "recapture," and a cap would allow those districts to hold onto significantly more money than the rest of the state.
One of the districts that would benefit from the cap is Eanes. Rep. Todd Baxter, an Austin Republican whose district includes Eanes, has pushed for a recapture cap in negotiations with the Senate and said he would not vote for a proposal that does not include one.
"What we need to focus on is creating a system that ties reducing recapture to increasing equity," he said.
The tentative deal on taxes that the Senate plans to reject calls for raising the statewide property tax to 7 percent, and expanding it to car repairs, bottled water, computer repairs and Internet access. It would also raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack but would not raise alcohol taxes as the Senate had wanted.
The state cap on property tax rates for school maintenance an operations would fall from $1.50 to $1.24 this year and $1.20 next year. In addition, the amount of a residential home's value exempt from property taxes would jump from $15,000 to $22,500. Senators had pushed for the increased exemptions to make sure the owners of less expensive homes would benefit from property tax cuts.
Senate Democrats have repeatedly threatened to filibuster a final tax bill, citing studies by the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board that say similar proposals cut taxes for households that earn more than $100,000 a year but raise taxes overall for the rest of the state. But the filibuster could be rendered ineffective if negotiators reach a tax deal and if Perry calls a fresh 30-day session.
When Perry called the current session in June, he also vetoed the state's education budget for the next two years in a challenge to lawmakers to come up with a new funding system.
But it is widely expected that if lawmakers do not enact a new system, the budget board will vote to restore the funding that Perry axed, ensuring that school starts on time.
Find this article at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/07/19finance.html
Upper chamber won't budge on sales tax; it doesn't appear a deal can be made by session's end.
by Mike Ward, Jason Embry / AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state senators abruptly left the Capitol on Monday night without a deal on overhauling the state's school finance system, fueling speculation that Gov. Rick Perry will call another special session if a deal is not reached before midnight Wednesday.
The senators' decision came about an hour after Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick had reportedly signed off on a plan that would raise the state sales tax to 7 percent, up from 6.25 percent. Senators have repeatedly rejected such a steep increase, saying it would hurt low-income Texans.
Dewhurst was asked Monday night if the Senate would approve such a plan.
"No," he said as he was leaving the Capitol.
"We're leaving tonight. We're going to send them a good bill in the morning, a bill that doesn't raise the sales tax higher than it should be and does not unfairly shift taxes from businesses to consumers."
The special session ends Wednesday night, but internal legislative rules — and a threatened filibuster in the Senate over the sales tax increase — make it difficult for lawmakers to agree to and approve any final plan today or Wednesday.
The 10 p.m. blowup overshadowed a deal that Dewhurst, Perry and Craddick had reached earlier in the night on the other half of school finance reform: education spending.
That plan called for boosting spending on public schools by more than $2 billion over two years, granting across-the-board teacher pay raises and capping the amount of money that property-wealthy districts send to poorer districts.
"The governor is very hopeful that we are in the final stretch of getting passage of a historic piece of legislation," Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
Perry, Dewhurst and Craddick reached the education spending deal after meeting for three hours Monday to hash out differences over school finance reform.
Sources close to the negotiations said Perry and Craddick had also agreed on the tax swap plan in the meeting and that Dewhurst agreed to review it with senators.
"The ball is in the Senate's court," said a source, who did not want to be identified for fear of disrupting the negotiations.
But senators' responses were swift and severe.
"They've got people trying to box the Senate in, and the Senate is not going to be boxed," said Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria and a key negotiator. "No one ever got hurt in an election year by killing a tax bill."
Perry has said he will call another 30-day session if this one ends without agreement on school finance.
The state's current system, which sends money from property-wealthy districts to poorer districts, has been ruled unconstitutional by a state judge and is being reviewed by the Texas Supreme Court.
Lawmakers were unsuccessful during the regular legislative session in crafting a new plan, prompting Perry to call them back to Austin for another try last month.
"The governor has said if they don't finish their work, we're coming back," Perry spokesman Robert Black said earlier Monday. "This is the number one issue the Legislature faces, and they must deal with it."
Asked when Perry would call them back, Black said, "One step at a time, but Thursday looks like a good day."
Sources said the compromise version of House Bill 2, the education spending plan, would:
•Push back the first day of school until after Labor Day, beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
•Include money for across-the-board pay raises of $1,500 per teacher this year. It would also give districts enough money to grant teachers additional raises averaging $500 this year and again next year, though the districts would decide for themselves exactly how to distribute that money.
•Cap the amount of money that property-wealthy districts, such as Eanes in Central Texas, sends to the state to be used by other districts as part of the share-the-wealth school finance system. No details were immediately available on what the cap would be or how much extra money Eanes could keep.
A few districts send as much as 70 percent of their local money through "recapture," and a cap would allow those districts to hold onto significantly more money than the rest of the state.
One of the districts that would benefit from the cap is Eanes. Rep. Todd Baxter, an Austin Republican whose district includes Eanes, has pushed for a recapture cap in negotiations with the Senate and said he would not vote for a proposal that does not include one.
"What we need to focus on is creating a system that ties reducing recapture to increasing equity," he said.
The tentative deal on taxes that the Senate plans to reject calls for raising the statewide property tax to 7 percent, and expanding it to car repairs, bottled water, computer repairs and Internet access. It would also raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack but would not raise alcohol taxes as the Senate had wanted.
The state cap on property tax rates for school maintenance an operations would fall from $1.50 to $1.24 this year and $1.20 next year. In addition, the amount of a residential home's value exempt from property taxes would jump from $15,000 to $22,500. Senators had pushed for the increased exemptions to make sure the owners of less expensive homes would benefit from property tax cuts.
Senate Democrats have repeatedly threatened to filibuster a final tax bill, citing studies by the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board that say similar proposals cut taxes for households that earn more than $100,000 a year but raise taxes overall for the rest of the state. But the filibuster could be rendered ineffective if negotiators reach a tax deal and if Perry calls a fresh 30-day session.
When Perry called the current session in June, he also vetoed the state's education budget for the next two years in a challenge to lawmakers to come up with a new funding system.
But it is widely expected that if lawmakers do not enact a new system, the budget board will vote to restore the funding that Perry axed, ensuring that school starts on time.
Find this article at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/07/19finance.html
Monday, July 18, 2005
Governors Endorse a Standard Formula for Graduation Rates
July 18, 2005
Governors Endorse a Standard Formula for Graduation Rates
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
DES MOINES, July 17 - Governors from 45 states agreed Sunday to adopt a common formula to calculate high school graduation rates, an initiative intended to help policy makers more accurately measure student success and identify academic programs that need improving.
The agreement is nonbinding, but as a series of recommendations, it would lead to a uniform accounting system to replace the patchwork of approaches currently used that the governors say often produces inaccurate or misleading information. It would also help states comply with the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, which uses graduation rates as a measure of whether schools are meeting annual progress requirements.
The governors said the agreement would also lead to a common formula for dropout rates and eventually to a reassessment of high school courses to make them more rigorous. Results of a federal study released last week showed that average reading and math scores for 17-year-olds were unchanged from the 1970's.
"This is just the first step," said Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and chairman of the National Governors Association, which announced the agreement at its annual summer meeting here. "Right now, different states have different definitions. So how can we make valid comparisons? And if you can't compare, how do we validate who has the best practices?"
Education reform, specifically "redesigning high school," has been a major policy focus of the meetings here this weekend, as well as Mr. Warner's chief priority during his one-year term as chairman. The push for harmonizing how graduation rates are determined was a central component of his efforts, viewed as a critical need to help states track student progress and divert resources to those falling behind.
Raymond Simon, deputy secretary of education, said the federal study released last week "reaffirmed the urgency of redesigning the American high school."
For now, the nation's most populous states, California, Texas and Florida, as well as Maryland and Wyoming, have not agreed to adopt the new formula. Mr. Warner said "a couple more states" were likely to join the agreement, but he stopped short of predicting that all 50 would.
Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican who will succeed Mr. Warner on Monday as chairman of the association, said current state-by-state comparisons of graduation rates were largely meaningless, adding that it would be like ranking one basketball team shooting at an 8-foot-high basket against another shooting at a 10-foot-high basket.
"We should all be shooting at a 10-foot basket," Mr. Huckabee said. "This will give us the ability to honestly know how well we are doing compared to other states."
Alluding to what many governors said needs to come next, a universal definition for dropout rates, Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, said state calculations were so incomplete that they often led to "vast disparities," even within a state.
The governors said it was particularly difficult to track the progress - or even the whereabouts - of students who are counted among incoming ninth graders but have disappeared by graduation. The simple math of comparing aggregate numbers, they said, does not account for students who may have transferred to another school or taken time off before deciding to return later.
Further, they said, schools often produce dropout rates using outdated information or false assumptions, not really knowing whether a missing student has graduated, transferred or become missing for other reasons.
It is unclear, however, when the governors would be ready to sign an agreement on a dropout rate. Officials with the association said the task force that developed the formula for graduation rates would meet again within a few months to set a timetable for moving forward.
The formula for graduation rates divides the number of a state's graduates in a particular year by the number of students entering the ninth grade for the first time four years before, plus the difference between the number of students who transfer in and out over the same four years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/education/18govs.html?
Governors Endorse a Standard Formula for Graduation Rates
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
DES MOINES, July 17 - Governors from 45 states agreed Sunday to adopt a common formula to calculate high school graduation rates, an initiative intended to help policy makers more accurately measure student success and identify academic programs that need improving.
The agreement is nonbinding, but as a series of recommendations, it would lead to a uniform accounting system to replace the patchwork of approaches currently used that the governors say often produces inaccurate or misleading information. It would also help states comply with the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, which uses graduation rates as a measure of whether schools are meeting annual progress requirements.
The governors said the agreement would also lead to a common formula for dropout rates and eventually to a reassessment of high school courses to make them more rigorous. Results of a federal study released last week showed that average reading and math scores for 17-year-olds were unchanged from the 1970's.
"This is just the first step," said Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and chairman of the National Governors Association, which announced the agreement at its annual summer meeting here. "Right now, different states have different definitions. So how can we make valid comparisons? And if you can't compare, how do we validate who has the best practices?"
Education reform, specifically "redesigning high school," has been a major policy focus of the meetings here this weekend, as well as Mr. Warner's chief priority during his one-year term as chairman. The push for harmonizing how graduation rates are determined was a central component of his efforts, viewed as a critical need to help states track student progress and divert resources to those falling behind.
Raymond Simon, deputy secretary of education, said the federal study released last week "reaffirmed the urgency of redesigning the American high school."
For now, the nation's most populous states, California, Texas and Florida, as well as Maryland and Wyoming, have not agreed to adopt the new formula. Mr. Warner said "a couple more states" were likely to join the agreement, but he stopped short of predicting that all 50 would.
Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican who will succeed Mr. Warner on Monday as chairman of the association, said current state-by-state comparisons of graduation rates were largely meaningless, adding that it would be like ranking one basketball team shooting at an 8-foot-high basket against another shooting at a 10-foot-high basket.
"We should all be shooting at a 10-foot basket," Mr. Huckabee said. "This will give us the ability to honestly know how well we are doing compared to other states."
Alluding to what many governors said needs to come next, a universal definition for dropout rates, Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, said state calculations were so incomplete that they often led to "vast disparities," even within a state.
The governors said it was particularly difficult to track the progress - or even the whereabouts - of students who are counted among incoming ninth graders but have disappeared by graduation. The simple math of comparing aggregate numbers, they said, does not account for students who may have transferred to another school or taken time off before deciding to return later.
Further, they said, schools often produce dropout rates using outdated information or false assumptions, not really knowing whether a missing student has graduated, transferred or become missing for other reasons.
It is unclear, however, when the governors would be ready to sign an agreement on a dropout rate. Officials with the association said the task force that developed the formula for graduation rates would meet again within a few months to set a timetable for moving forward.
The formula for graduation rates divides the number of a state's graduates in a particular year by the number of students entering the ninth grade for the first time four years before, plus the difference between the number of students who transfer in and out over the same four years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/education/18govs.html?
Coming to America
"Although some immigrants are a burden on the welfare system, as a group they pay far more in taxes than they receive in government benefits, such as public education and social services." -Angela
Scientific American
August, 2005
Coming to America
IMMIGRATION TODAY RIVALS THE INFLUX OF A CENTURY AGO BY RODGER DOYLE
The current wave of immigration, which rivals the massive influx of 1880-1914, started with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Since then, about 27 million legal immigrants have crossed the border. In addition, an estimated 10.3 million illegal ones live in the U.S. The net result is that, as of 2004, there were 34.2 million foreign-born residents in the country. More than half are from Latin America and about a quarter from Asia, which contrasts with the pre-World War I period, when the foreign-born were overwhelmingly European.
Today's surge, like its predecessor, is profoundly affecting the culture and economics of the U.S., particularly in southern Florida, southern California and the New York metropolitan area. In 2004 the foreign-born accounted for 11.3 percent of the population, and at their present rate of increase, this figure could exceed the record of 14.6 percent in 1890. The foreign-born now account for half the growth of the U.S. population.
One reason that the U.S. draws immigrants is the long-standing shortage of native-born workers. Too few Americans are acquiring scientific and engineering skills: of the foreign-born, 3.3 percent of those 18 years of age and older hold higher degrees, such as Ph.D.s and J.D.s, compared with 2.2 percent of the native-born population. At the same time, the native-born shun many manual jobs. Farm labor, for instance, is largely foreign-born. Several California industries, such as apparel and construction, depend
almost exclusively on immigrant workers.
Another stimulus to immigration is U.S. involvement abroad, which has led to waves of migrants from South Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and other countries. Other triggers include civil conflict, as in Colombia, and hard times, as in the former Soviet countries.
Although some immigrants are a burden on the welfare system, as a group they pay far more in taxes than they receive in government benefits, such as public education and social services. A National Academy of Sciences study in 1997 found that immigrants had little impact on the earnings of U.S.–born Americans, except for unskilled jobs, where native-born high school dropouts found their wages going down because of competition from unskilled immigrants. According to the National Foreign Intelligence Board, an advisory body to the Central Intelligence Agency, the more liberal immigration policies of the U.S. have given it a competitive edge over Europe and Japan in industries such as information technology.
Scientific American
August, 2005
Coming to America
IMMIGRATION TODAY RIVALS THE INFLUX OF A CENTURY AGO BY RODGER DOYLE
The current wave of immigration, which rivals the massive influx of 1880-1914, started with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Since then, about 27 million legal immigrants have crossed the border. In addition, an estimated 10.3 million illegal ones live in the U.S. The net result is that, as of 2004, there were 34.2 million foreign-born residents in the country. More than half are from Latin America and about a quarter from Asia, which contrasts with the pre-World War I period, when the foreign-born were overwhelmingly European.
Today's surge, like its predecessor, is profoundly affecting the culture and economics of the U.S., particularly in southern Florida, southern California and the New York metropolitan area. In 2004 the foreign-born accounted for 11.3 percent of the population, and at their present rate of increase, this figure could exceed the record of 14.6 percent in 1890. The foreign-born now account for half the growth of the U.S. population.
One reason that the U.S. draws immigrants is the long-standing shortage of native-born workers. Too few Americans are acquiring scientific and engineering skills: of the foreign-born, 3.3 percent of those 18 years of age and older hold higher degrees, such as Ph.D.s and J.D.s, compared with 2.2 percent of the native-born population. At the same time, the native-born shun many manual jobs. Farm labor, for instance, is largely foreign-born. Several California industries, such as apparel and construction, depend
almost exclusively on immigrant workers.
Another stimulus to immigration is U.S. involvement abroad, which has led to waves of migrants from South Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and other countries. Other triggers include civil conflict, as in Colombia, and hard times, as in the former Soviet countries.
Although some immigrants are a burden on the welfare system, as a group they pay far more in taxes than they receive in government benefits, such as public education and social services. A National Academy of Sciences study in 1997 found that immigrants had little impact on the earnings of U.S.–born Americans, except for unskilled jobs, where native-born high school dropouts found their wages going down because of competition from unskilled immigrants. According to the National Foreign Intelligence Board, an advisory body to the Central Intelligence Agency, the more liberal immigration policies of the U.S. have given it a competitive edge over Europe and Japan in industries such as information technology.
The Dropout Puzzle
by PAUL KRUGMAN / NYTIMES
Published: July 18, 2005
Many seemingly authoritative figures, not all of them partisan shills, say
that the American economy has fully recovered from the recession that began
in 2001. They point to the unemployment rate, which has fallen from a peak
of 6.3 percent in 2003 to 5 percent last month. That's not quite as low as
the 4.2 percent unemployment rate in February 2001, when the recession
began, but it's fairly low by historical standards.
For some reason, however, the public isn't feeling prosperous. Gallup tells
us that only 3 percent of Americans describe the economy as "excellent," and
only 33 percent describe it as "good."
Maybe people are just ungrateful. Maybe they've been misled by negative
media reports. Maybe they're grumpy about their paychecks: adjusted for
inflation, average weekly earnings have been flat for the past five years.
Or maybe the figures on unemployment are giving a false signal.
Economists who argue that there's something wrong with the unemployment
numbers are buzzing about a new study by Katharine Bradbury, an economist at
the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which suggests that millions of
Americans who should be in the labor force aren't. "The addition of these
hypothetical participants," she writes, "would raise the unemployment rate
by one to three-plus percentage points."
Some background: the unemployment rate is only one of several numbers
economists use to assess the jobs picture. When the economy is generating an
abundance of jobs, economists expect to see strong growth in the payrolls
reported by employers and in the number of people who say they have jobs,
together with a rise in the length of the average workweek. They also expect
to see wage gains well in excess of inflation, as employers compete to
attract workers.
In fact, we see none of these things. As Berkeley's J. Bradford DeLong
writes on his influential economics blog, "We have four of five indicators
telling us that the state of the job market is not that good and only one -
the unemployment rate - reading green."
In particular, even the most favorable measures show that employment growth
has lagged well behind population growth over the past four years. Yet the
measured unemployment rate isn't much higher than it was in early 2001. How
is that possible?
The answer, according to the survey used to estimate the unemployment rate,
is a decline in labor force participation. Nonworking Americans aren't
considered unemployed unless they are actively looking for work, and hence
counted as part of the labor force. And a large number of people have, for
some reason, dropped out of the official labor force.
Those with a downbeat view of the jobs picture argue that the low reported
unemployment rate is a statistical illusion, that there are millions of
Americans who would be looking for jobs if more jobs were available. Those
with an upbeat view argue that labor force participation has fallen for
reasons that have nothing to do with job availability - for example, young
adults, recognizing the importance of education, may have chosen to stay in
school longer.
That's where Dr. Bradbury's study comes in. She shows that the upbeat view
doesn't hold up in the face of a careful examination of the numbers. In
fact, because older Americans, especially older women, are more likely to
work than in the past, labor force participation should have risen, not
fallen, over the past four years. As a result, she suggests that there may
be "considerable slack in the U.S. labor market": there are at least 1.6
million and possibly as many as 5.1 million people who aren't counted as
unemployed but would take jobs if they were available.
There's both good news and bad news in that assessment. The good news is
that the economy probably has plenty of room to expand before inflation
becomes a problem (which implies that the Fed's decision to start raising
interest rates was premature).
The bad news is that it's hard to see where further expansion will come
from. We've already had four years of extremely loose fiscal and monetary
policy. Tax cuts have pushed the federal budget deep into the red. Low
interest rates have helped generate a housing bubble that has lifted real
estate prices to ludicrous heights in major parts of the country.
If all that wasn't enough to give us a full economic recovery, what will?
E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com
Published: July 18, 2005
Many seemingly authoritative figures, not all of them partisan shills, say
that the American economy has fully recovered from the recession that began
in 2001. They point to the unemployment rate, which has fallen from a peak
of 6.3 percent in 2003 to 5 percent last month. That's not quite as low as
the 4.2 percent unemployment rate in February 2001, when the recession
began, but it's fairly low by historical standards.
For some reason, however, the public isn't feeling prosperous. Gallup tells
us that only 3 percent of Americans describe the economy as "excellent," and
only 33 percent describe it as "good."
Maybe people are just ungrateful. Maybe they've been misled by negative
media reports. Maybe they're grumpy about their paychecks: adjusted for
inflation, average weekly earnings have been flat for the past five years.
Or maybe the figures on unemployment are giving a false signal.
Economists who argue that there's something wrong with the unemployment
numbers are buzzing about a new study by Katharine Bradbury, an economist at
the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which suggests that millions of
Americans who should be in the labor force aren't. "The addition of these
hypothetical participants," she writes, "would raise the unemployment rate
by one to three-plus percentage points."
Some background: the unemployment rate is only one of several numbers
economists use to assess the jobs picture. When the economy is generating an
abundance of jobs, economists expect to see strong growth in the payrolls
reported by employers and in the number of people who say they have jobs,
together with a rise in the length of the average workweek. They also expect
to see wage gains well in excess of inflation, as employers compete to
attract workers.
In fact, we see none of these things. As Berkeley's J. Bradford DeLong
writes on his influential economics blog, "We have four of five indicators
telling us that the state of the job market is not that good and only one -
the unemployment rate - reading green."
In particular, even the most favorable measures show that employment growth
has lagged well behind population growth over the past four years. Yet the
measured unemployment rate isn't much higher than it was in early 2001. How
is that possible?
The answer, according to the survey used to estimate the unemployment rate,
is a decline in labor force participation. Nonworking Americans aren't
considered unemployed unless they are actively looking for work, and hence
counted as part of the labor force. And a large number of people have, for
some reason, dropped out of the official labor force.
Those with a downbeat view of the jobs picture argue that the low reported
unemployment rate is a statistical illusion, that there are millions of
Americans who would be looking for jobs if more jobs were available. Those
with an upbeat view argue that labor force participation has fallen for
reasons that have nothing to do with job availability - for example, young
adults, recognizing the importance of education, may have chosen to stay in
school longer.
That's where Dr. Bradbury's study comes in. She shows that the upbeat view
doesn't hold up in the face of a careful examination of the numbers. In
fact, because older Americans, especially older women, are more likely to
work than in the past, labor force participation should have risen, not
fallen, over the past four years. As a result, she suggests that there may
be "considerable slack in the U.S. labor market": there are at least 1.6
million and possibly as many as 5.1 million people who aren't counted as
unemployed but would take jobs if they were available.
There's both good news and bad news in that assessment. The good news is
that the economy probably has plenty of room to expand before inflation
becomes a problem (which implies that the Fed's decision to start raising
interest rates was premature).
The bad news is that it's hard to see where further expansion will come
from. We've already had four years of extremely loose fiscal and monetary
policy. Tax cuts have pushed the federal budget deep into the red. Low
interest rates have helped generate a housing bubble that has lifted real
estate prices to ludicrous heights in major parts of the country.
If all that wasn't enough to give us a full economic recovery, what will?
E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com
Sunday, July 17, 2005
School bills stoke fears of educators
BY JOHN REYNOLDS / LUBBOCK AVALANCHE JOURNAL
Some educators are growing more and more worried that a new sign might soon hang from low-performing Texas schools in the next few years - "Under New Management."
Both the House and Senate versions of House Bill 2, a 400-plus-page doorstop of a bill dealing with everything from teacher pay to lower school property taxes to computerizing accountability exams, have provisions to overhaul campuses that don't perform well on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
The education commissioner would have the authority to turn over the operation of a low-performing campus to an outside management team after two years.
James Harris, a special education teacher with Lubbock Independent School District and regional vice president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said the bill's language opens the door to for-profit companies like Edison Schools managing Lubbock schools.
"History has proven they cannot do the job as well," he said. "In a number of places, they have been terminated for not doing the job well. They're interested more in a profit than the success of the children."
The public should be concerned, he said, because reconstituting schools under private management could lead the community to lose control of their schools.
As House and Senate negotiators worked through the weekend to hammer out an agreement to reform Texas' public schools, the privatization issue was flying under the radar although educators view it as a greater threat than other, better-publicized issues, Harris said.
The education commissioner already has the ability to dissolve low-performing school districts, but HB 2 would expand that to individual campuses.
Schools that are rated academically unacceptable or would have been rated unacceptable had the next year's accountability standards been in place this year would be assigned a team to improve the campus's performance.
The teams could be in low-performing schools as early as the coming school year. According to an analysis done by the Texas Freedom Network, intervention teams could be assigned to nine LISD campuses.
They are: Estacado High, O.L. Slaton Junior High, Arnett Elementary, Bayless Elementary, Bean Elementary, Dupre Elementary, Wright Elementary, Alderson Middle and Matthews Learning Center.
An intervention team would work with the school to create an improvement plan.
The team would have wide latitude to distribute additional funds, waive state rules and intervene with administrators and teachers to improve test scores.
If the campus remains academically unacceptable for a second year, the education commissioner would then have the option to reconstitute the campus, close the campus or turn it over to alternative management.
As part of the reconstitution process, the intervention team has the power to fire the principal or teachers.
A school that performs poorly for a third year would automatically come under alternative management.
State Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, downplayed the reconstitution provision, saying the goal is to speed up improvements at low-performing schools.
Current procedures allow too many years to pass before schools implement improvement plans, he said. Meanwhile, children entering the school system quickly fall behind their peers at other campuses.
"We're trying to get control a little more quickly," he said.
Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, said he was concerned about anything that would move Texas' public schools toward privatization.
In the past, school districts have farmed out cafeteria and bus services in the name of economic efficiency, he said.
"It's my view that privatization might produce theoretical savings," he said. "But I don't see how you can do that without reducing service for the students."
"There are some good things in the bill," Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network said. He pointed specifically to intervention teams as a positive option for low-performing campuses.
"Our problem is if an option is to turn it over to a private company," he said. "That's a terrible option. It's not a last resort; it's a disaster."
To comment on this story:
john.reynolds@lubbockonline.com 766-8725
brian.williams@lubbockonline.com 766-8717
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/071705/edu_071705031.shtml
Some educators are growing more and more worried that a new sign might soon hang from low-performing Texas schools in the next few years - "Under New Management."
Both the House and Senate versions of House Bill 2, a 400-plus-page doorstop of a bill dealing with everything from teacher pay to lower school property taxes to computerizing accountability exams, have provisions to overhaul campuses that don't perform well on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
The education commissioner would have the authority to turn over the operation of a low-performing campus to an outside management team after two years.
James Harris, a special education teacher with Lubbock Independent School District and regional vice president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said the bill's language opens the door to for-profit companies like Edison Schools managing Lubbock schools.
"History has proven they cannot do the job as well," he said. "In a number of places, they have been terminated for not doing the job well. They're interested more in a profit than the success of the children."
The public should be concerned, he said, because reconstituting schools under private management could lead the community to lose control of their schools.
As House and Senate negotiators worked through the weekend to hammer out an agreement to reform Texas' public schools, the privatization issue was flying under the radar although educators view it as a greater threat than other, better-publicized issues, Harris said.
The education commissioner already has the ability to dissolve low-performing school districts, but HB 2 would expand that to individual campuses.
Schools that are rated academically unacceptable or would have been rated unacceptable had the next year's accountability standards been in place this year would be assigned a team to improve the campus's performance.
The teams could be in low-performing schools as early as the coming school year. According to an analysis done by the Texas Freedom Network, intervention teams could be assigned to nine LISD campuses.
They are: Estacado High, O.L. Slaton Junior High, Arnett Elementary, Bayless Elementary, Bean Elementary, Dupre Elementary, Wright Elementary, Alderson Middle and Matthews Learning Center.
An intervention team would work with the school to create an improvement plan.
The team would have wide latitude to distribute additional funds, waive state rules and intervene with administrators and teachers to improve test scores.
If the campus remains academically unacceptable for a second year, the education commissioner would then have the option to reconstitute the campus, close the campus or turn it over to alternative management.
As part of the reconstitution process, the intervention team has the power to fire the principal or teachers.
A school that performs poorly for a third year would automatically come under alternative management.
State Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, downplayed the reconstitution provision, saying the goal is to speed up improvements at low-performing schools.
Current procedures allow too many years to pass before schools implement improvement plans, he said. Meanwhile, children entering the school system quickly fall behind their peers at other campuses.
"We're trying to get control a little more quickly," he said.
Rep. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock, said he was concerned about anything that would move Texas' public schools toward privatization.
In the past, school districts have farmed out cafeteria and bus services in the name of economic efficiency, he said.
"It's my view that privatization might produce theoretical savings," he said. "But I don't see how you can do that without reducing service for the students."
"There are some good things in the bill," Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network said. He pointed specifically to intervention teams as a positive option for low-performing campuses.
"Our problem is if an option is to turn it over to a private company," he said. "That's a terrible option. It's not a last resort; it's a disaster."
To comment on this story:
john.reynolds@lubbockonline.com 766-8725
brian.williams@lubbockonline.com 766-8717
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/071705/edu_071705031.shtml
Saturday, July 16, 2005
EDUCATION BILLS WOULD WRECK OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS!
Compliments of the Texas Freedom Network. -Angela
SPECIAL SESSION ACTION ALERT
EDUCATION BILLS WOULD WRECK OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS!
With the special session in its last days, lawmakers are almost out of time to fix school finance and make sure Texas kids attend top-notch schools. But all we are seeing from the Capitol is smoke and mirrors. In the name of “reform,” legislative leaders are cobbling together compromise bills that threaten our kids’ education by:
turning over hundreds of public schools to failed private, for-profit education companies like Edison Schools, Inc.;
eliminating quality education standards for some schools; and
greatly expanding a troubled charter school system that has already wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and failed students across the state.
TAKE ACTION! TEXAS CAN DO BETTER!
Call your legislators today and tell them to vote NO on the conference committee bill, H.B. 2. Find contact information for your legislators here.
Texas can do better! Lawmakers should take the oath: “Do no harm!” They should either pass good, honest reforms or go home. Texas can’t afford bad legislation that raises taxes for most Texans while cutting them for the wealthiest, still leaves public schools short of the money they need and includes bad public policies that undermine our kids’ education. This isn’t “reform” – it’s a disaster.
(NOTE: The defeat of H.B. 2 would not threaten the opening of schools in August. State leaders still have the authority to fund schools this fall.)
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The Texas Freedom Network advances a mainstream agenda of religious freedom and individual liberties to counter the radical right.
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Copyright 2004-2005 Texas Freedom Network. All Rights Reserved.
SPECIAL SESSION ACTION ALERT
EDUCATION BILLS WOULD WRECK OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS!
With the special session in its last days, lawmakers are almost out of time to fix school finance and make sure Texas kids attend top-notch schools. But all we are seeing from the Capitol is smoke and mirrors. In the name of “reform,” legislative leaders are cobbling together compromise bills that threaten our kids’ education by:
turning over hundreds of public schools to failed private, for-profit education companies like Edison Schools, Inc.;
eliminating quality education standards for some schools; and
greatly expanding a troubled charter school system that has already wasted millions of taxpayer dollars and failed students across the state.
TAKE ACTION! TEXAS CAN DO BETTER!
Call your legislators today and tell them to vote NO on the conference committee bill, H.B. 2. Find contact information for your legislators here.
Texas can do better! Lawmakers should take the oath: “Do no harm!” They should either pass good, honest reforms or go home. Texas can’t afford bad legislation that raises taxes for most Texans while cutting them for the wealthiest, still leaves public schools short of the money they need and includes bad public policies that undermine our kids’ education. This isn’t “reform” – it’s a disaster.
(NOTE: The defeat of H.B. 2 would not threaten the opening of schools in August. State leaders still have the authority to fund schools this fall.)
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The Texas Freedom Network advances a mainstream agenda of religious freedom and individual liberties to counter the radical right.
Make a donation to support the work of TFN.
Tell a friend! To subscribe to TFN News Clips, Alerts or Action Teams, use the form here. Subscribers may choose to receive News Clips on a daily or a weekly basis.
You are subscribed to this list as valenz@mail.utexas.edu. To change your TFN subscription preferences click here.
Home | Privacy & Security Policy | Contact Us
Copyright 2004-2005 Texas Freedom Network. All Rights Reserved.
2003-2004 NAEP Results
According to the 2003-2004 National Assessment of Educational Progress [see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ ] 9-year-olds posted record scores in reading and mathematics. 13-year-olds made modest gains, especially see math results. High school students' performance (17-year-olds) remained flat, however. For minorities, the test gap (not to be confused with the real achievement or educational attainment-gap) has apparently been dramatically narrowed as well.
See a related San Francisco Chronicle (7/15) report.
-Angela
See a related San Francisco Chronicle (7/15) report.
-Angela
Deadline Looms Over School Finance Talks
OK, the session is winding down. The problem with this tax bill overall is that both bills take some of the tax burden off the weaoty8est 20% and shift it to the rest in our state. Average middle-class folks in medium-priced homes will see a decrease in property taxes, but not enough to justify much of a shift for most. This might mean, for example a decrease to as low as $1.10 per $100.00 valuation by 2007, saving this family a mere $125.00 or so.
In return, the sales tax could go up to 7.25 cents on the dollar, giving Texas the highest tax rate in the country. This is very regressive. An analysis by the Legislative Budget Board demonstrates that unless one belongs to a household that earns more than $140.000.00 per year, the 1 cent tax increase will cost more to us personally than the property tax "saving" will put back. Where's the much-needed leadership in our state who will fight not only for the working- but also the middle-class families of our state?
Even with these proposals, the business establishment is resisting, not wanting to get "hurt" Business wants to have it both ways, paying the least amount possible into public education at the same time that they want a well-educated citizenry and workforce that will minimize their workforce training/educating costs.
In the meantime, the Texas Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the current school funding law, so school finance promises to loom as a concern for sometime.
-Angela
Negotiators hope to pick up speed.
By Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Facing renewed pressure from businesses and a looming legislative deadline, lawmakers entered a critical weekend of negotiations over school finance reform Friday. With the 30-day special session scheduled to end Wednesday, it was clear that talks about proposals passed in the House and Senate would go down to the wire. Key lawmakers have been meeting behind closed doors all week but have not announced any agreements on legislation to send back to their chambers for final approval.
Lawmakers are trying to pass two major pieces of legislation: One focuses on education reforms and spending increases, the other on cutting billions of dollars in property taxes while raising sales and business taxes.
"Everybody knows the clock is ticking and we've got to get this done," Gov. Rick Perry said. "I think the alternative is not acceptable."
Negotiators working on the education proposal have met for several hours a day this week, at times going until midnight. Some of the key differences have been how to structure teacher pay raises and how much money to spend on technology.
Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst sounded upbeat when they stepped out of a meeting on the education proposal Friday night, although they did not specify the remaining sticking points.
"We're down to four or five issues," Dewhurst said. "(Perry) and I walked in and threw out some solutions to help both the House conferees and the Senate conferees reach an agreement."
Tax negotiators met publicly twice on Friday but remained at odds over how much they should increase the sales tax, whether there should be increases in alcohol taxes and how much they can cut in property taxes.
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the two sides need to reach an agreement by early Sunday to avert a filibuster attempt by tax bill critics in the Senate.
He and his House counterpart, Ways and Means Committee chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, bemoaned the fact that Texas lawmakers will not cut property taxes as much as they had talked about earlier this year because neither side passed a sweeping reform of business taxes.
"Sometimes you've got to go in increments," Keffer said.
One House negotiator, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said the House wants to cut the maximum property tax rate for school maintenance and operations by at least 20 percent over the next two years.
While lawmakers did not extend the state's general business tax, the corporate franchise tax, to partnerships as some had hoped, about 10,000 corporations that have set up partnerships to avoid it will have to start paying it under both the House and Senate versions.
Perry and Dewhurst acknowledged that some oil and gas companies that would have to pay the franchise tax for the first time are trying to persuade lawmakers to vote against the tax plan.
"I would not want to be a member of the Legislature to go back to my district and to say that I could not support a revenue shift to those companies that should have been paying the franchise tax for the last decade," Perry said.
jembry@statesman.com; 445-3654
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/07/16finance.html
In return, the sales tax could go up to 7.25 cents on the dollar, giving Texas the highest tax rate in the country. This is very regressive. An analysis by the Legislative Budget Board demonstrates that unless one belongs to a household that earns more than $140.000.00 per year, the 1 cent tax increase will cost more to us personally than the property tax "saving" will put back. Where's the much-needed leadership in our state who will fight not only for the working- but also the middle-class families of our state?
Even with these proposals, the business establishment is resisting, not wanting to get "hurt" Business wants to have it both ways, paying the least amount possible into public education at the same time that they want a well-educated citizenry and workforce that will minimize their workforce training/educating costs.
In the meantime, the Texas Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the current school funding law, so school finance promises to loom as a concern for sometime.
-Angela
Negotiators hope to pick up speed.
By Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Facing renewed pressure from businesses and a looming legislative deadline, lawmakers entered a critical weekend of negotiations over school finance reform Friday. With the 30-day special session scheduled to end Wednesday, it was clear that talks about proposals passed in the House and Senate would go down to the wire. Key lawmakers have been meeting behind closed doors all week but have not announced any agreements on legislation to send back to their chambers for final approval.
Lawmakers are trying to pass two major pieces of legislation: One focuses on education reforms and spending increases, the other on cutting billions of dollars in property taxes while raising sales and business taxes.
"Everybody knows the clock is ticking and we've got to get this done," Gov. Rick Perry said. "I think the alternative is not acceptable."
Negotiators working on the education proposal have met for several hours a day this week, at times going until midnight. Some of the key differences have been how to structure teacher pay raises and how much money to spend on technology.
Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst sounded upbeat when they stepped out of a meeting on the education proposal Friday night, although they did not specify the remaining sticking points.
"We're down to four or five issues," Dewhurst said. "(Perry) and I walked in and threw out some solutions to help both the House conferees and the Senate conferees reach an agreement."
Tax negotiators met publicly twice on Friday but remained at odds over how much they should increase the sales tax, whether there should be increases in alcohol taxes and how much they can cut in property taxes.
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the two sides need to reach an agreement by early Sunday to avert a filibuster attempt by tax bill critics in the Senate.
He and his House counterpart, Ways and Means Committee chairman Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, bemoaned the fact that Texas lawmakers will not cut property taxes as much as they had talked about earlier this year because neither side passed a sweeping reform of business taxes.
"Sometimes you've got to go in increments," Keffer said.
One House negotiator, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said the House wants to cut the maximum property tax rate for school maintenance and operations by at least 20 percent over the next two years.
While lawmakers did not extend the state's general business tax, the corporate franchise tax, to partnerships as some had hoped, about 10,000 corporations that have set up partnerships to avoid it will have to start paying it under both the House and Senate versions.
Perry and Dewhurst acknowledged that some oil and gas companies that would have to pay the franchise tax for the first time are trying to persuade lawmakers to vote against the tax plan.
"I would not want to be a member of the Legislature to go back to my district and to say that I could not support a revenue shift to those companies that should have been paying the franchise tax for the last decade," Perry said.
jembry@statesman.com; 445-3654
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/tx/legislature/stories/07/16finance.html
Personal Comment—Mother Daughter Wisdom
With my mother ill with cancer, I'm contemplating my own relationship with my mother and in turn with my two daughters and how all of this connects up to health. A good friend of mine sent this article to me that is quite illuminating on the power of our most intimate relationships and how together with our minds and bodies, have implications for our personal health and well being. Amazingly, at the exact moment of this writing, John Mayer's hit song, "Daughters," played on the radio. Dr. Northrup (see below) is onto something. -Angela
MOTHER DAUGHTER
Understanding the Feminine Legacy of Good Health
an interview with Christiane Northrup, M.D.
BY CYNTHIA CHATFIELD
As women encounter various life stages, we are called upon to create ourselves anew. But unknown territory is scary. We naturally seek the guidance and support of someone who’s been there before. Someone who knows us well and can show the way. If she’s standing firm in her own wisdom and power, it’s our mother who becomes our North Star, a beacon of strength and practical counsel…
Dr. Christiane Northrup, America’s leading voice empowering women to become active participants in their own physical, mental and emotional development, now shares poignant insights as to how mothers can help daughters grow up and move forward with confidence. And how both can learn to live a joyous, creative and full life on their own terms.
As a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist and the mother of two grown daughters, Dr. Northrup has come to understand that the mother-daughter relationship “has more clout biologically, emotionally and psychologically than any other relationship in a woman’s life.”
Through more than two decades of hands-on healthcare treating thousands of women, Northrup has noted that if a woman’s relationship with her mother is supportive and healthy, and if her mother has given
http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/resources/content/0505_Featured_Article_May
MOTHER DAUGHTER
Understanding the Feminine Legacy of Good Health
an interview with Christiane Northrup, M.D.
BY CYNTHIA CHATFIELD
As women encounter various life stages, we are called upon to create ourselves anew. But unknown territory is scary. We naturally seek the guidance and support of someone who’s been there before. Someone who knows us well and can show the way. If she’s standing firm in her own wisdom and power, it’s our mother who becomes our North Star, a beacon of strength and practical counsel…
Dr. Christiane Northrup, America’s leading voice empowering women to become active participants in their own physical, mental and emotional development, now shares poignant insights as to how mothers can help daughters grow up and move forward with confidence. And how both can learn to live a joyous, creative and full life on their own terms.
As a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist and the mother of two grown daughters, Dr. Northrup has come to understand that the mother-daughter relationship “has more clout biologically, emotionally and psychologically than any other relationship in a woman’s life.”
Through more than two decades of hands-on healthcare treating thousands of women, Northrup has noted that if a woman’s relationship with her mother is supportive and healthy, and if her mother has given
http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/resources/content/0505_Featured_Article_May
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