Take Back Texas Alliance

TEXAS SCHOOL FINANCE FACT SHEET

Tom Archer — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:34:35 +0000

When the Legislature approved our state budget for the 2012/2013 biennium (9/1/11 – 8/31/13) this past June, it made history by cutting $4 Billion in funding for public schools and $1.4 Billion in grants (for pre-k, student aid and support, etc). For the first time ever, the new state budget also included no money for the 80,000 additional students who arrive in Texas schools each year. The cuts amounted to $1,000 per student, or 9% of total public education spending. To implement these cuts, the Legislature repealed a 60-year Legislative Compact adopted in 1949 that guaranteed funding levels for all students in Texas public schools. These spending cuts have caused thousands of teacher layoffs across Texas and increased class sizes.
The budget cuts and threats to public education are a direct result of a “tax swap” in 2006 that created a permanent hole in the Texas budget. As Rep. Mike Villarreal’s Power Point presentation and State Comptroller Carole Keeton’s letter from May 15, 2006, clearly demonstrate, the permanent hole, known as a structural deficit, is now $10B and growing. If this permanent hole isn’t eliminated, Texas faces ballooning deficits and a bleak economic and educational future.
Before the current budget cuts were approved by the Legislature, Texas already ranked 50th nationally in per capita spending overall. We are now at or near the bottom nationally in per capita spending on public education as well. Texas has the highest growth rate of child poverty among the states, and slightly over half of Texas public schoolchildren live in poverty.
Currently Texas ranks 11th nationally in property taxes, and the budget cuts mean that property taxes will continue to rise. Inadequate state funding has given us the worst of both worlds: a declining quality of education due to budget cuts and ever-increasing property taxes, which tax people’s most important assets, their homes, regardless of their ability to pay.
Texas currently ranks 42nd nationally in taxes and fees collected as a percentage of personal income. Our tax system cannot generate sufficient revenues to meet the bedrock needs of our state.
The Texas Tax Code contains 227 tax exclusions, reductions and discounts totaling $66B. By closing tax loopholes and fixing the margins tax, Texas can fund quality public education for all. Without such action, property taxes will continue to rise, the dropout problem will worsen, and the quality of public education will suffer.
The Take Back Texas Alliance is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization created recently by concerned citizens who realized that those in control are causing enormous harm to our state. Our mission is to tell the voters of Texas the truth about the Texas budget and generate public support for a new legislature in 2013 that will analyze the facts and do what is right for Texas. We need legislators whose allegiance is to the people of our state and whose focus is to make public education their top priority.
The opportunity to elect a new legislature may not reappear for a long time. All 31 Texas Senators are up for re-election. This event only happens after redistricting, or every 10 years. In addition, many veteran legislators who voted for the budget cuts are retiring, and many incumbents are vulnerable due to redistricting. Candidates must file for public office in Texas between November 15 and December 15, 2011.

VOTER EDUCATION FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

Tom Archer — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:24:54 +0000

STATEWIDE VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN
December 2011 – May 2012

Digital Media Campaign $185,000

Radio Media Campaign $100,000

Advertising Research & Creative Development $60,000

Project Coordination & Website Support $225,000

Public Relations $90,000
—– —–
TOTAL $660,000

Office space, business equipment and meeting facilities at 807 Brazos Street, Suite 714, are included.

HOW WE CAN SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION IN TEXAS

Tom Archer — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:19:55 +0000

Texas is in a race to the bottom. We are last among the 50 states in overall per capita spending, and we are at or near the bottom among the states in per capita spending on public education. The consequences to our economy and the futures of our children are devastating. The jobs of 32,000 public school employees, many of them teachers, have already been eliminated. An even greater number of jobs in public education will be eliminated in the spring and summer of 2012 due to deeper spending cuts ordered by the Legislature. The Texas unemployment rate of 8.4% is the highest since 1987, teacher morale has plummeted, class sizes have increased, and the dropout rate is certain to rise. The costs we incur from this misguided policy of public education cuts far outweigh the budgetary savings and will steadily increase with the passage of time.

Polls taken by organizations across the political spectrum reflect overwhelming public opposition among Texas voters to the Legislature’s $5.4B in cuts to public education funding. Clearly there is a serious disconnect between the policies favored by Texas voters and those adopted by the Legislature. There are several reasons why many members of the Legislature have ignored their constituents’ opinions on this issue:

Voter Apathy: Texas was last in the nation in voter turnout in 2010, with only 32% of registered voters casting ballots. From 2008 to 2010 statewide voter turnout declined by 3 million voters, from 8 million to 5 million.

The Economic and Ideological Power of Anti-Education Forces: Although polls reflect only 4% support for the Legislature’s education cuts, the influence of this tiny minority goes far beyond their numbers. They are well funded and well organized, and they are ideologically aligned with many Republican members of the Texas House.

Voters’ Lack of Knowledge about the Texas Budget Crisis: Texas voters don’t understand that the current Texas budget crisis was caused by a disastrous “tax swap” in 2006 that has caused an escalating permanent hole in our state budget, which now stands at $10B. They are also unaware that Texas currently has 227 state tax preferences and loopholes, many of them for special interests, which amount to $66B. They don’t realize that the Legislature is directly responsible for Texas exorbitant property taxes, which currently rank 11th nationally, because our elected representatives haven’t provided enough state aid to Texas public schools for the past 10 years. During this period, Texas has fallen from its former ranking of 25th nationally in per capita funding for public education to its current dismal ranking.

Clearly, Texas must eliminate tax loopholes and develop reliable funding sources in order to save public education. The harvest from educational investments requires decades to produce but only years to destroy. What businesses or individuals will want to move to a state that doesn’t care about public education, its foundation for the future?

Recent polls have consistently shown that public education funding is the most important issue for Texas voters in the 2012 elections. However, anti-education candidates will work to avoid talking about education and focus on other issues. Therefore, it is vital that a voter education campaign begin immediately to make adequate education funding
the overriding priority in order to elect a new pro-education legislature in 2012. History has repeatedly shown that informed voters are far more likely to vote than voters who are uninformed about the candidates and the issues. To save public education in Texas, our public schools must receive adequate funding, which can only be appropriated by the Legislature.

We must elect a new legislature to save public education in Texas.

The Take Back Texas Alliance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, is uniquely dedicated to developing and implementing such a campaign to tell Texas voters the truth about the root causes of the Texas education funding crisis and how to resolve it. To our knowledge, we are the only organization engaged in such an effort. Our professionally designed voter education campaign by Swash Labs will employ a blend of digital and radio messages and will utilize digital technology to determine which communications are most effective. We will not only educate Texas voters about the issues, we will also enable them to discern which candidates truly support public education and which ones do not. While our task is challenging, we have both the medium and the message to succeed. What we do need is your financial support to help us meet our goal of raising $660,000 for this effort.

The millions that will be spent on political campaigns during this election cycle go far beyond our financial requirements. The money we spend will be to inform and educate, not to engage in political propaganda. With your support we will help the people of Texas take back our government so that its decisions will reflect the will of the people on the most important issue for our future, public education.

*** EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION – A TEXAS VALUE SINCE 1836 ***

TEXAS FUTURE IS AT STAKE IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS

Tom Archer — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:53:16 +0000

Yes, the economic and political future of our state will be on the line next year. If you think this is hype, consider these facts. In two short months, Texas will be either dead last or close to dead last in a large number of categories that measure our state’s investment in the future. Two of the most critical benchmarks for our future are public and higher education. Unfortunately, toll roads are given a higher priority in Texas’ 2012/13 budget than either public or higher education. In ten short years, we’ve gone from the middle of the pack (25th) in public education funding per capita to 50th (dead last). What businesses or individuals want to move to a state that doesn’t care about public or higher education, the foundation for its future?

The University of Texas experienced a 16% cut in this budget, with Texas A&M University receiving a 13% cut. Southwestern Medical School in Dallas received a 22% cut. U.T. now receives approximately 13% of its total funding from the State of Texas and is essentially a private university as a result of increasingly draconian funding levels appropriated by our legislatures in recent years. How much longer are we going to tolerate the destruction of education at all levels in Texas before we finally take action to replace the people who have made these inexcusable choices?

We’re already tied for first with Mississippi in the overall percentage of minimum wage jobs. Texas is fast becoming a banana republic, with an enormous gap between rich and poor and a regressive and antiquated tax code that is incapable of generating enough revenue to provide even the most rudimentary state services for our population. If present trends continue, we will soon become a state with a poorly educated population that will attract only those industries that offer minimum wage jobs. Do we want to accept a future comprised of widespread economic decline that is designed to benefit only the richest members of our society? Clearly the answer is “no,” so we need to become politically involved and make sure that the next Texas Legislature reflects the will of the people and places them ahead of the special interests.

Did you know that our 82nd Legislature repealed a 1949 legislative compact guaranteeing a funding formula for public education? Our legislature now appropriates whatever level of funding it considers appropriate for public education, and the state pretends that Texas public schools have no new students for funding purposes. Unless it is changed, this new law will remain in effect during the 83rd Legislative Session that will convene in January 2013. Our current Legislature has made it clear that it will not provide adequate funding for public education and is thus willing to violate the following provision of the Texas Constitution adopted in 1876:

Article 7: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

Please join us in our efforts to inform the people of Texas about this effort to destroy the very foundation upon which our state was built. We will soon announce an advertising campaign to inform Texas voters of the truth about the Texas budget crisis and how it was created by those we elected to serve us. Before and during this campaign, we will continue our efforts to enlist a new group of citizens willing to dedicate the time and energy to win election as our representatives in Austin and make the necessary changes to ensure that we can be proud of our state government once again. To take back Texas, everyone needs to get involved. The details will follow soon.

Help calculate the “toll” on Texas!

Lesa Walker — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:45:52 +0000

The Texas Legislature has levied a “toll” that all Texans will pay.

Visit the “Texas Toll” blog at http://texastoll.blogspot.com! We are gathering and posting content on the blog that documents, in dollars and person-count, the actual effects of the budget and legislation adopted by the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Texas Governor Rick Perry. The blog will publish content that displays the financial and real-life consequences (the toll) of legislation of this Texas Legislative Session for all people across the state.

If you have such content for the blog, please email the info/stories to thetexastoll@gmail.com. The info will be considered for posting on the Texas Toll blog. We will continue to publish on the blog as the aftermath of this Session unfolds across Texas over the next 2 years. We want to document the outcome of the Session, reveal what is happening in peoples lives, so people will have the information they need to make informed choices when they vote.

When you visit http://texastoll.blogspot.com!, be sure to click your answer to the poll. It is fast and simple- takes less than 30 seconds.

Spread the word and keep the email address of thetexastoll@gmail.com in your email address contacts so anytime you access key data (fiscal analyses and direct consequences in terms of local program budget changes, jobs lost/gained, services lost/gained, etc.) or have a story documenting the facts of what is happening in our schools, communities, and individual lives, you can send off a quick email to the blog.

The blog will be what you make it! Thanks and stay attuned to the Texas Toll!

Will Texas be the first state to eliminate public education?

Tanya Tussing — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:07:10 +0000

As Peter Stern waves good bye to public education, he notes that “Few Texans should be surprised that the State wants to remove more financing from public education, since it has been doing so almost every year for the past decade. However, it is a sad commentary on a State that is almost last on the list of states providing quality public education for Texas children. Currently, it is quite clear that there has been an active push by the State to develop private education and to eliminate its responsibility for public education. In fact, many legislators already sit on the boards of private, charter and religious schools. Special interests continue to push for a voucher program to enable parents to take their children from public education and use the vouchers for private enrollment.”

“Our legislators are trying to eliminate public education behind closed legislative doors. SB 1 is the largest attempt in any previous bill to eliminate the financing of public education for our children and it is a symptom of special interest politics permeating throughout Texas. If the majority of voters sits back and do nothing, Texas may succeed as the first state in the U.S. to eliminate public education.”

Peter Stern of Driftwood, Texas, a former Director of Information Services, University Professor and Public School Administrator, is a political writer well-known and published frequently throughout the Texas community and nationwide. He is a Disabled Vietnam Veteran and holds three post-graduate degrees. Mr. Stern’s entire post, Wave Goodbye to Public Education, can be found at educationnews.org.

Town Hall Meeting on Texas State Finances & 2012 – 2013 Budget

Tom Archer — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:50:44 +0000

In this photo-set, I will guide you through slides of pertinence from a presentation by Rep. Villarreal at the recent town hall meeting on Texas State Finances and the future budget.

You can also download the full Powerpoint Presentation here

Texas Budget Crisis

Tom Archer — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:44:33 +0000

The roots of Texas’ current budget crisis arise from a state law enacted in 2006. At that time, Governor Rick Perry proposed that a “tax swap” be enacted in response to a Texas Supreme Court ruling that an unconstitutional statewide property tax was in effect. The ruling was based on the fact that most local school district property taxes were at the maximum $1.50 cap allowed by state law.

Governor Perry’s “tax swap” proposal called for substantial revenue reductions in property taxes in exchange for equivalent revenue increases generated by a “margins tax” on Texas businesses. However, State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn wrote a letter on May 15, 2006, to Governor Perry with copies to Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, House Speaker Tom Craddick, and the Legislature warning them that the “tax swap” was “$23 billion short of the funds needed to pay for the promised property tax cuts over the next five years.” Since that time Comptroller Strayhorn’s projections have been verified by the facts.

Unfortunately, the tax swap became law and is now the root cause of the astounding record $26.9 billion deficit that Texas faces for the upcoming 2012-2013 biennium.
Ms. Strayhorn projected that the “structural deficits” for 2009 and 2010 would total $9.9B. The State Comptroller’s Office testified before the Senate Finance Committee on January 31, 2011, that the structural deficit is currently $10B. In her letter Ms. Strayhorn stated: “At worst, it will relegate Texans to Draconian cuts in critical areas like education and health care for at least a generation.” This description accurately describes the budget cuts adopted by the Texas House in its budget (House Bill 1) approved on April 3, 2011.
Texas now faces the financial apocalypse that Ms. Staryhorn predicted. The Legislative Budget Board has projected that House Bill 1 would, if enacted, result in the loss of 335,244 jobs statewide, decrease employment in Texas by 2.3%, and result in a loss of $17.2B in personal income statewide. The stakes have never been higher.

The solution is obvious. Texas must have sufficient additional revenues to eliminate the need for budget cuts. If Texas does not fix the permanent hole in the budget (the structural deficit) with additional revenues this legislative session, the hole will more than double again in two years regardless of how the economy performs. The only viable way to raise the necessary revenue is to eliminate some of the 227 tax loopholes that currently exist which total $66B. If the Legislature closes $22B of these loopholes and spends $4.9B from the Economic Stabilization (Rainy Day) Fund, the budget deficit will be eliminated, and there will be no need for the cuts. Otherwise, Texas indeed faces a very bleak future and will relegate itself to a backwater status (we’re already dead last in per capita spending among the 50 states) with a deteriorating business climate, a collapsing school system, and an imploding health care delivery system. The time to act is now!

A hard look at essential programs

Tom Archer — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:44:01 +0000

The debate over the state budget boils down to this: How do you define “essential” government programs?

Is it essential that someone at Child Protective Services answers the phone when you want to report your neighbor’s child is being abused? Should we train new doctors, since one-third of practicing physicians are near retirement? Is it necessary to maintain a network of nursing homes to care for elderly Texans suffering from Alzheimer’s and other afflictions requiring round-the-clock care?

If you answered no to all of the above, then you are in agreement with a coalition of conservative organizations who maintain that the Legislature should keep its hands off the state’s rainy day fund. Also known as the Economic Stabilization Fund, the rainy day fund collects oil and gas tax revenues into a savings account for use in correcting temporary downturns in state revenues. Conservative groups are arguing that since the Texas House adopted a budget that “does not cut essential programs — and does not demand a penny from the rainy day fund,” the Texas Senate should just sign off on that plan and call it a day.

On the outside looking in: Protesters try to raise concern over budget cuts

Tom Archer — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:12:54 +0000

The Take Back Texas Alliance's demonstration

About 60 protesters gathered near the steps of the Capitol on Friday, expressing their fears about the state budget with symbolic coffins and handmade signs. Ministers, schoolteachers, wheelchair warriors, labor representatives, youth activists and environmentalists warned of the dangers of the extensive cuts that House members were inside debating.

Read the full article at The Dallas Morning News