Disability advocates gathered at the Capitol today to call on lawmakers to use the Rainy Day Fund, to raise new revenue and, above all else, to not cut community-based services for the disabled. Over and over again the crowd chanted, “No cuts! No cuts!”
March 2011
Posted in
State Government
Voter ID Gets Tense Hearing
The voter ID bill came before House lawmakers this morning — and it was a tense scene. Even supporters of the measure had to grapple with testimony from people who endorse the bill on anti-illegal immigration grounds.
Posted in
Public Education
Do Grants Offer Local Control, or Strings?
The Obama administration’s education budget includes $900 million for the Race to the Top program. And this time around, there’s a twist: Individual districts — as opposed to states — can apply for the funds.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Top Texas News for March 1, 2011
Gov. Rick Perry, on a visit to the White House, swatted down a health care olive branch on Monday.
Posted inState Government
Interactive: Texas Superintendent Salaries
Facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, some state lawmakers are questioning whether public schools spend too much on administration — specifically, on pay for superintendents. Use this table to sort those records by salary, district enrollment and pay per student, and see how each superintendent ranks.
Posted inState Government
Former Mayors Offer Advice to Austin
The city of Austin could follow in the footsteps of other major Texas cities if it changed its form of government to single-member districts in time for the next general election, former big-city mayors said Monday night.
Posted in
Health care
Calling It Quits on Smoking Cessation?
Finding ways to cut health care costs is all the rage under the Pink Dome — and curbing smoking is a proven way to do it. But budget proposals slash tobacco cessation programs by more than 80 percent.