HB 400 Struggle Breaks Old Alliances, Creates New Ones
Just past midnight, at the close of a 14-hour day last week on the floor of the Texas House, state Rep. Rob Eissler stood joking with reporters.
“I’m going to move my desk up to the front mic,” Eissler said, “so I can watch every bill that goes by.”
After failing on three separate occasions to pass his signature education bill for the session and running out of time on a fourth, the Woodlands Republican was describing his plan to attach the legislation as an amendment to other bills that are still working their way through the House.
The ...
Comments (3)
Texascattleco
Small districts are different than large ones. I have worked in both. There are advantages and disadvantages in each for students, teachers and other staff. Any attempt to permanently weaken the protections that teachers have fought for for years should be defeated. Thirty minutes for lunch isn't much time when a teacher has to walk the class to the cafeteria as elementary teachers do. At one time teachers didn't have a duty free 30 minute lunch. Teachers make less than people with a comparable amount of college hours, classes, or degrees already. If we want to keep a healthy public school system we mus be willing to pay for it. There is an overemphasis on testing that is costing the state a lot of money and making the biggest testing company so rich it has moved into buying textbook companies to prepare students for the test. There are very few savings that could be made except in cutting back on extracurricular activities and the associated travel that goes with them. There is really no such thing as tenure for a public school teacher. Contracts are year to year and are worth more to the district than the teacher. It says I can't leave even if I have a better job waiting, unless the school gives me permission. That assures the school I will be there until the end of the contract. In the thirty or so years I worked in education Texas was below the national average for pay all but one year. We have many legislators that couldn't teach, making laws for people that can. The few that have taught are probably trying to stop or improve this legislation because they are the only ones in the legislature that actually know that it is not an easy job to be a good teacher. There are hundreds of decisions to be made every day at the same time you are trying to keep a class engaged in learning.
Rob DAmico
Eissler handed out a story line that he didn't want temporary provisions because this fiscal crisis might last longer than expected, and thus the "flexibility" might be needed longer. That argument doesn't fly, since the Legislature returns every two years anyway. And it's insulting when no one is taking the leadership to fix the structural deficit. (Although Eissler did accept Strama's sunset amendment during the initial HB 400 debate.)
With the class-size issue, much of the media has failed to report consistently that waivers in the existing law can handle the flexibility needed to increase class sizes. Ross Ramsey slips this in nicely in a revealing conversation about how HB 400's provisions really aren't needed for the budget in the weekly Tribcast at http://bit.ly/jFlqux (around minute mark 7:39).
Still, if the intent for this legislation really was to save teacher jobs, I'm sure that good faith negotiations with teachers/administrator organizations could have produced something if the will was there. If it takes weeks, so be it. Sometimes people get particular when your proposal is to cut their pay, furlough them, take away employment rights and cram more kids in their classes. "Ugly" is right. Balancing the budget on the backs of teachers and students isn't flying with the public. And the public has a bit more time to make sure Eissler and crew get that message. See http://www.facebook.com/22to1
Suzy Hagar via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Perhaps "We the People" are getting through to some of our representatives. Hope springs eternal.