Gov. Perry on Public and Higher Education

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is right to refuse to "compete" for federal "Race to the Top" education funds. Applying for and "winning" the $700 million would mean abandoning state control of education and ceding it to the federal government.

And that's not the federal government's job.

"This administration's attempt to bait states into adopting national standards is an effort to undermine states' authority to determine how their students are educated, and is clearly aimed at circumventing laws prohibiting national standards," Gov. Perry said on June 1. "Abandoning state standards and adopting new nationalized standards would cost Texas taxpayers $3 billion, and would likely weaken the rigorous college- and career-ready standards and assessments already in place in our state."

The Race to the Top program pits states against each other in an unseemly competition.

"The $4.5 billion federal program aims to spur innovation by rewarding states that promote charter schools, adopt rigorous learning standards, tie teacher pay to student achievement and intervene in chronically low-performing schools," the

Wall Street Journal reports. "Forty states applied for the first round of the competition. Only Delaware and Tennessee won funds. They received a combined $600 million."

The Obama administration claims Race to the Top has "advanced" education by spurring states to enact their own reforms.

"But Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, said many of the changes -- especially on the charter school front -- have been 'inconsequential,'" the

Journal reports. "In New York, lawmakers pushed through legislation Friday afternoon that eased the cap on charter schools from 200 to 460. But it placed restrictions on the schools by barring for-profit organizations from opening new ones."

Mississippi also passed a charter school law,

"but it prohibits the creation of charters in the traditional sense," the

Journal adds. "The law doesn't allow private groups to open new charters. It simply allows low-performing schools to convert to charters if parents vote for it. Parents would run the school, but budget and curriculum decisions could be overridden by state or district officials."

There's nothing wrong with the idea of national standards -- a key part of Race to the Top and an important reason why Texas won't seek the funds.

But in practice, national standards would inevitably fall short -- because of politics.

Nothing at the federal level will be done without union involvement. The teachers' unions will inevitably have a big say in what the standards are, how they're measured and the penalties for poorly performing teachers and schools.

And politics will be involved -- just look at the recent flap on the Texas State Board of Education over the content of textbooks. Imagine the unions getting involved in something like that at the federal level.

But the most fundamental argument against national standards remains the U.S. Constitution itself. Education is simply not an enumerated power of the federal government -- nor should it be.

Children are educated by local schools, local teachers and local districts -- not by bureaucrats in Washington.

Perry is right to keep control of Texas schools in Texas.

PALACIOS - When Elizabeth Castandon first heard of the program, she grew skeptical.

"I was not convinced the program would work," said Elizabeth, a Palacios High School senior who is now president of that same group - Powerful Opportunities for Women Eager and Ready for Science, Engineering and Technology.

"My interest in engineering would have not happened had I not been a part of Power Set," she said Thursday to an auditorium filled with students, local officials, family and Gov. Rick Perry .

Elizabeth is the next generation who will lead the area into the future of nuclear power, Perry said.

On Thursday, Perry presented a $175,000 workforce training grant to the Power Set Workforce Industry Training program at the Palacios High School Fine Arts Auditorium.

“We're all on the same team today.”

That's what Gov. Rick Perry said as he surveyed the crowd of students from local high schools gathered Thursday for the Generation Adelante/Generación Forward college fair at Brackenridge High School.

Perry could have just as easily been talking to the politicians in the room. After all, it's not every day that Perry, a staunchly conservative Republican, receives a warm introductory speech and a hug from state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte D-San Antonio, a liberal stalwart, and one of his sharpest legislative critics. But that's exactly what happened Thursday.

This rare example of election-year bipartisanship occurred at an event where more than 30 colleges and universities set up booths and provided students with information on admission and financial aid.

For 32 days liberal trial lawyer Bill White has hidden the truth from Texans by refusing to release his income taxes for his years in public service. As a result Texans have no way of knowing how much outside income White made while mayor of Houston. What is known is that White’s fiscal mismanagement of Houston created a budget mess affecting all areas of the city, including libraries.

From today’s Houston Chronicle:

Hammered by $2.2 million in budget cuts, the Houston Public Library system this month will reduce its hours by 28 percent — closing most of its 42 branches on Saturdays — and trim expenditures for library materials. The reductions, marking the first time in seven years that hours of operation have been cut, come as patronage of the library continues to grow. During the past year, in-person visits to library branches increased 13 percent and borrowing of library materials rose 15 percent. … The series of cuts to the library's $39.3 million budget came as the city of Houston tightened its belt in the face of a budget shortfall of $12 million to $20 million for the current fiscal year. The city deficit for the fiscal year beginning in July is expected to reach $100 million.

(SOURCE: “Budget forcing cuts in library hours,” Houston Chronicle, 4/8/10)

“It’s unfortunate that parents and children will be denied access to libraries because of Bill White’s fiscal mismanagement of Houston,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Stop hiding your tax returns, Mr. Bill, and apologize to the children of Houston for reducing their library hours.”

On Day 30 of liberal trial lawyer Bill White refusing to release his income tax returns, he is attacking Texas educators by using incorrect statistics related to the graduation rate of Texas students.

“Liberal trial lawyer Bill White ignores facts when they don’t suit his agenda,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Over the last month, he has denied he was a trial lawyer, defended not disclosing to Texas Ethics Commission wages that he reported to the IRS, and is now intentionally using misleading education statistics. It is unfortunate that Bill White continues to distance himself from reality.”

As Gov. Rick Perry has said before, one dropout is one too many, but Texas does not have a 30 percent dropout rate as White has suggested. The percent of students who enter high school and eventually earn a diploma or equivalent, or who remain in pursuit of a diploma or equivalent, is 90 percent.

Based upon the reaction out of Washington, I must have touched a nerve when I announced that Texas won't be pursuing the strings-attached federal stimulus funds known as Race to the Top (RTTT).

President Barack Obama and his administration have put a target on the backs of Texas leaders, taxpayers and employers because state leaders and lawmakers have proven that conservative principles can balance budgets, improve schools, clean the environment and help entrepreneurs create jobs.

Texans have also led the 10th Amendment charge to protect state sovereignty from threats like Obama's latest effort to circumvent the right of states to determine how to best educate their children.

The problem with RTTT funding is clear: Under the program's rules, Washington gives preference and dollars to states that agree to adopt national standards that haven't even been written yet.

Texans strongly support the high standards and strong accountability for our schools that have made us a national leader in both categories. Other states are even studying our approach, the first in the nation to make a college-preparatory curriculum the default for every student, as a basis for their own standards.

Texas is home to some of the country's most innovative charter schools, with more than 115,000 students on nearly 500 campuses. It has the largest merit pay program for outstanding public school teachers. I've also recently announced efforts to make it easier for students to learn via the Internet and called on legislators to bulk up our instruction in critical areas like science, technology, engineering and math.

I suspect there is some head-scratching going on in our nation's capital as federal officials try to figure out how our test scores are rising and our dropout rate falling without mandates or bribes from Washington.

Put simply, we have poured our efforts into preparing the state's students for the jobs of tomorrow.

Considering Texas is among the nation's leaders in standards, I imagine whatever federal standards are eventually agreed upon will be weaker than the ones we have now.

Adding injury to insult, the price tag to change all our text books and instructional materials to comply with Washington's vision for public education would be about $3 billion.

In return, Texas could expect to get back from Race To The Top as little as $75 a student, barely enough to fund our state's educational system for two days.

So turning down the strings-attached stimulus money was an easy call — in terms of ensuring our children get the best education possible and in simple matters of dollars and cents.

A few days after I made that announcement, the president said he wanted another $1.35 billion in borrowed dollars to expand RTTT so he could sidestep states and appeal directly to individual school districts that might be willing to sign away their authority in return for a quick infusion of some federal cash.

Why are Obama and his allies so insistent on funding only those who will accept federal strings and standards? Why not just fund good programs, like we do in Texas?

An answer might be found in a speech Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered early last year. Duncan said, "If we accomplish one thing in the coming years, it should be to eliminate the extreme variation in standards across America."

Let's set aside the argument that the "variation in standards" among states fosters innovation and a healthy competition that drives standards ever higher all over the country.

That's not what this seems to be about. This seems to be about one thing, and one thing only: federal control.

Washington doesn't have an issue with our programs. Washington doesn't have an issue with our academic or accountability standards. It just wants to make sure it calls the shots, not Texas educators, school boards and other elected officials.

Should Washington drop its focus on the adoption of national standards and simply allow states the freedom to use this money to fund quality programs on a one-time basis, we can consider possibly applying for future grants.

Until then, however, the education of our children is far too important to entrust to some federal bureaucrat toiling in a distant federal building.

In Texas, we are fighting to maintain our freedom to hold our children to high standards, because that's the only way Texas will maintain its established reputation as a national leader in job creation, innovation and quality of life.

Stresses education and job creation as keys to continued success in Texas

Gov. Rick Perry shared his message of fiscal responsibility today during visits to small businesses in Wichita Falls, Texarkana and Tyler. He stressed the importance of strengthening Texas’ education while maintaining a focus on job creation efforts as the keys to preparing an equipped workforce and overcoming the challenges of the struggling national economy.

Gov. Perry visited the Feed and Garden Store in Wichita Falls, North Forty in Texarkana, and Cavender’s Boot City in Tyler, all businesses that represent the foundation of what keeps our state’s economy moving forward.

In his remarks, Gov. Perry credited the comparative strength of Texas’ economy to four principles that Texas leaders have upheld including fiscal restraint, a predictable regulatory climate, a reasonable and fair legal system, and an accountable public school system that is better preparing our children to compete in the workforce.

“Because we have kept it simple and stuck to our guns, entrepreneurs know that they can succeed on their own merits without being taxed, regulated and frivolously sued out of existence,” said Gov. Perry. “They also know that our workforce is getting stronger by the day because we have improved the quality of public education by emphasizing accountability, teacher incentive pay and mastery of the basic subjects.”

The governor reiterated his recent proposal calling on the Texas Education Agency and the Department of Public Safety to work with local school districts to further leverage the privilege of a driver’s license as an incentive to keep students engaged in the education process.

“I believe that in order for high school-aged individuals to get and keep a driver's license they should be enrolled in school, be it bricks and mortar or our virtual high school, and, most importantly, working toward their diploma or GED,” said Gov. Perry. “This approach will not only give local school districts another tool in their efforts to reduce dropouts, it will also give students an incentive to do the work that will prepare them to compete in the workforce.”

Acknowledging the challenging economic climate posed by the national recession, the governor pledged to keep working until every Texan who wants a job has a job and noted that Texas’ commitment to upholding a business-friendly climate will lead the state to continued economic success. Texas economist Ray Perryman recently noted that Texas is the “last in and first out” when it comes to the current economic downturn, pointing to the job growth that Texas has experienced in three of the past six months. The Texas Workforce Commission has also reported that Texas created more private sector jobs than any other state in the nation over the last 10 years and has the lowest unemployment rate among the 10 largest states in the nation.

“The story of hardworking innovators coming together to attract the best and brightest is played out again and again all across Texas as people take advantage of the job-friendly climate we’ve created and risk their capital in pursuit of a vision,” said Gov. Perry. “The fact is, even though no one is immune to the effects of the economic downturn, Texas is better off than just about every other state, thanks to years of disciplined conservative leadership at every level.”

Additionally, Gov. Perry focused on fiscal responsibility by reiterating the need for Texas to amend its constitution with two key provisions: requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to approve tax increases and limiting spending growth to the combined growth rates of Texas’ population and inflation. Both amendments will ensure the continued fiscal discipline that allowed Texas to balance its budget in 2009 while setting aside billions for its Rainy Day fund and cutting taxes for more than 40,000 small businesses.

To ensure Texas continues providing a strong education to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive workplace, Gov. Perry has announced a proposed expansion of the state’s Virtual School Network to improve access to high quality, online courses for high school students and help recapture students who have dropped out of school. Gov. Perry has also called on doubling the number of Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (T-STEM) academies in an effort to educate more Texas students in the subjects required of an increasingly high tech economy and workplace, and expanding the UTeach Program in an effort to recruit university students earning math and science degrees into teaching.