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HOW'S THIS FOR AWESOME? I've highlighted my favorite section, because I do stuff like that.)
Governor Perry,
I hope that this message finds you in good spirits. In light of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) report regarding the state budget, I felt that it was important for me to write you regarding mine and concerns of my constituents.
As you are aware, the LBB predicts that the state budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee would result in 272,000 fewer jobs in Texas in 2012 and 335,000 fewer in 2013. The LBB also predicts that the budget would eliminate 117,000 private sector jobs in 2012 and 146,000 in 2013. In 2006, you pushed through a tax swap that you said would better fund public education. Not only has your promise not proven true, but it has actually drained money from schools, leaving the state with a permanent shortfall that has reached $5 billion a year. Texas currently ranks near the bottom in funding for public education.
Although you and the politicians in control are responsible for this record shortfall, you have chosen to focus your sights on local school districts, proposing billions of dollars in cuts to public education to offset the shortfall in the upcoming biennium. As you are well aware, this will result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs across the state and poorer quality education for children of all ages. Furthermore, extreme cuts to education pose a great threat to the future prosperity of our state. We need to make Texas school children a priority, and it is economically shortsighted to increase class sizes, fire teachers and underfund classrooms. Education is the key to innovation, and the technology jobs of tomorrow will require students with a strong background in math and science to compete in the 21st century global economy.
You and some conservative Republicans originally refused to commit any of the estimated $9.4 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. At the urging of numerous members of both parties, you struck a deal to use $3.2 billion of the Fund to close the current deficit; which will keep the state running and help the State avoid a shortfall for six weeks over the summer. This expenditure, however, will do little to help public schools for the next two years, leaving them $7 billion short.
You have stated that you would reject a bill that spends one additional cent of the Rainy Day Fund for the next two years. Moreover, you have said that school districts should spend down their reserve balances, which they are required by law to maintain, creating fiscal insecurity and devaluing financial accountability ratings. I believe it is disingenuous for the state to require school districts to hold a specific amount of money in their reserves, only to later tell those same districts to spend it down so that the state does not have to take responsibility for its mistakes.
Governor Perry, we need real solutions to our budget problems. The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again while expecting to yield different results. Anyone can apply across the board budget cuts without thought. However, the voters elected us to lead, to set priorities, and to protect those priorities. The right priorities include responsible spending cuts, closing corporate tax loopholes and using some of the Rainy Day Fund.
I am incredibly concerned about what the draconian cuts to public education will mean for preparing our children and protecting their future. We cannot afford to balance our budget on the backs of our children, and more importantly I believe that we should put party politics aside and do what’s in the best interest of our state.
Sincerely,
Ron Reynolds
State Representative
HD 27
Governor Perry,
I hope that this message finds you in good spirits. In light of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) report regarding the state budget, I felt that it was important for me to write you regarding mine and concerns of my constituents.
As you are aware, the LBB predicts that the state budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee would result in 272,000 fewer jobs in Texas in 2012 and 335,000 fewer in 2013. The LBB also predicts that the budget would eliminate 117,000 private sector jobs in 2012 and 146,000 in 2013. In 2006, you pushed through a tax swap that you said would better fund public education. Not only has your promise not proven true, but it has actually drained money from schools, leaving the state with a permanent shortfall that has reached $5 billion a year. Texas currently ranks near the bottom in funding for public education.
Although you and the politicians in control are responsible for this record shortfall, you have chosen to focus your sights on local school districts, proposing billions of dollars in cuts to public education to offset the shortfall in the upcoming biennium. As you are well aware, this will result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs across the state and poorer quality education for children of all ages. Furthermore, extreme cuts to education pose a great threat to the future prosperity of our state. We need to make Texas school children a priority, and it is economically shortsighted to increase class sizes, fire teachers and underfund classrooms. Education is the key to innovation, and the technology jobs of tomorrow will require students with a strong background in math and science to compete in the 21st century global economy.
You and some conservative Republicans originally refused to commit any of the estimated $9.4 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. At the urging of numerous members of both parties, you struck a deal to use $3.2 billion of the Fund to close the current deficit; which will keep the state running and help the State avoid a shortfall for six weeks over the summer. This expenditure, however, will do little to help public schools for the next two years, leaving them $7 billion short.
You have stated that you would reject a bill that spends one additional cent of the Rainy Day Fund for the next two years. Moreover, you have said that school districts should spend down their reserve balances, which they are required by law to maintain, creating fiscal insecurity and devaluing financial accountability ratings. I believe it is disingenuous for the state to require school districts to hold a specific amount of money in their reserves, only to later tell those same districts to spend it down so that the state does not have to take responsibility for its mistakes.
Governor Perry, we need real solutions to our budget problems. The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again while expecting to yield different results. Anyone can apply across the board budget cuts without thought. However, the voters elected us to lead, to set priorities, and to protect those priorities. The right priorities include responsible spending cuts, closing corporate tax loopholes and using some of the Rainy Day Fund.
I am incredibly concerned about what the draconian cuts to public education will mean for preparing our children and protecting their future. We cannot afford to balance our budget on the backs of our children, and more importantly I believe that we should put party politics aside and do what’s in the best interest of our state.
Sincerely,
Ron Reynolds
State Representative
HD 27
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