Seriously, show me the MONEY! If I remember correctly, one of the main selling points of Texas starting up a Lottery was that it would FUND OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM in Texas! Since we have no actual state tax here - it was a BIG selling point for sure! Truth is, the first couple of years of the Texas Lottery, nothing went into our Education System. Truth is, the Lottery only generates about $1 Billion annually for our schools. Truth is, our budget is billions more than that! And, truth is, the Lottery isn't a magic pill.
A few years ago, there were billboards all over Houston - most likely all over Texas - proclaiming that the Texas Lottery had pumped more than $8 BILLION dollars into our public school systems in Texas at that time (2006 or so). Actually, it comes down to about $1 Billion a year. (This sounds great, doesn't it? But, alas, it's but a small portion of what we use every year - it's a drop in the bucket.) Here's the breakdown: 28% of the proceeds of the Texas Lottery goes directly into our Education System here in Texas. The other amounts are set aside for prize money, retail payments and 2% for unclaimed prizes, which gets to be used for 'general State spending'. (Gee, seems like that should also go into Education, not general spending - SNAP!)
STILL - even with Lottery sales helping to fund public education in Texas, our budgetary needs far exceed our Lottery contributions. We need more money. The Lottery idea may have inadvertently misled some folks into thinking it would take care of all our educational woes...I was living in Illinois at the time, so I don't know the specifics, just what I've read on the web. But, the taxpayers really carry the bulk of the tab on this, and taxpayer and Lottery contributions together just aren't enough.
Now the Texas Schools are in a budget crisis - a BIG BUDGET CRISIS - and they are slashing the budget and cutting Texas teachers and programs. I cannot believe this is the right answer! Our classrooms are already full! Cut teachers and the classrooms will overflow! The teachers will have to spend more time disciplining than teaching! (NO!)
I don't know what the answer is - I wish I had a solution to offer. I know that one Texas Lawmaker is proposing a 2% raise in sales tax. In Houston we already pay 8.25% and this would raise us to a whopping 10.25%! (YIKES! - *gulp*) But I have a kid in school, so I'll do whatever it takes to keep our Texas schools from backsliding including a 2% hike in sales tax....which is what these severe cuts will cause! School closures - Program cuts - Teacher cuts - Magnet funds redistribution...and the list goes on and on and it's not pretty! It's very ugly and extremely disheartening!
HISD (Houston Independent School District) has some pretty darn good teachers, I must say. Oh, we've run across a bad apple or two, as you would in any profession - but overall, HISD truly has some wonderfully talented, caring, passionate teachers! And to begin with, they don't get paid nearly enough for what they do and what they put up with. Now, we're going to close schools and cut teachers and programs? I can't take it!
Start a STATE TAX! Hike the SALES TAX! Do something, anything, BUT DON'T CLOSE OUR SCHOOLS AND CUT OUR TEACHERS!!! I truly do not believe this is the answer! We need more money to continue - let's get the money, let's make the money, let's find, allocate and beg, borrow and...okay, I'm morally against stealing the money....but let's FIND THE MONEY IT TAKES and do what we have to do!
Buckle up, Texas, it's going to be a bumpy ride! But, we are TEXANS! We can do this! SAVE THE SCHOOLS! SAVE OUR TEACHERS! And in doing so, we will be SAVING OUR KIDS! This is a call to action! Go to the meetings - sign the petitions - pound the pavements - write the letters - propose solutions (if know of one, don't keep it to yourself)!
We can't afford our schools and teachers? Bull Sh*t! (WHAT'D YOU SAY?) You heard the first time, don't make me repeat it, 'cause my mama & my MIL reads this blog! We simply cannot afford to SKIMP on our kids!
KHOU story - [HERE]
2006 Houston Chronicle explanation of Texas Lottery - [HERE]
2010 Houston Chronicle, Grier's explanation of Magnet funds redistribution - [HERE]
2010 Various Texas District plans - [HERE]
Now - gotta go meditate to calm down. Ohmmm...Ciao for Niao! Playwright Chick
3 COMMENTS HERE:
When I lived in South Louisiana, I remember the push for the Lotto in the early 90's and how it was going to fund education - uh huh, and then all the outrage when it really wasn't going to do that so much after all. Sigh.
Seems like a problem in more than one state. GRRRR!
During the late 1960's Illinois had a TV ad with a kid delivering newspapers on his bicycles in the suburbs.
The message: the Illinois Lottery will fund education.
What they forgot to tell people was that it wouldn't be additional funding for education. Just more revenue for the state, perhaps a little bit more for education.
Visitor from www.InternetMarketingforMommies.com
Richard
Chicago, IL USA
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