Texas State Senate News
(AUSTIN) — School districts would have more discretion regarding teacher employment, class size and state mandates under two measures considered Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee.
Shapiro confers with Finance CommitteeChair Steve Ogden of Bryan at Tuesday's
Education Committee hearing.
Shapiro's Senate Bill 3 would give districts increased discretion over teacher employment policies. It would allow districts to furlough teachers for seven non-instructional days each year. Districts could fire teachers that don't maintain certification standards, and would not be subject to minimum salary requirements for retired teachers that teach part-time.
The bill would also give flexibility regarding how schools use their limited resources. It removes the 10 to 1 student/teacher ratio required in remedial classes, removes regulations on test management standards, and extends the telecommunications discount provided to schools, scheduled to end next year, through 2014.
The second measure, SB 443 by Houston Senator Dan Patrick, would change class size requirements and give districts further discretion in employment practices. SB 443 would require that districts maintain a 21 to 1 average ratio across all classes, but would prohibit classes that exceed 24 students. Under his bill, districts could immediately fire teachers that are convicted of felonies immediately, avoiding, said Patrick, the lengthy and costly hearing process required to terminate a teacher.
Shapiro warned districts not to abuse the new freedom proposed under SB 3 and SB 443. "We need to give you back the local control, but I think it's very important to remember what we can do we can also undo," she said.
Both bills remain pending before the committee. The Senate reconvened today at 11 a.m.
12 comments:
This decision to allow the local school districts more control over their budgets is great.
That means WISD can suspend their expensive sports programs and focus that freed up money on academics and not have to lay off any teachers. Plus, the WISD coaches can now spend their time teaching the subjects they have expertise in that they studied in college.
I know Dwayne York will do these adjustments with the budgets because he cares only about academics.
"We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No sarcasm in the class room
Hey, teachers! Leave those kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall."
You can read verbatim transcripts
of on-the-floor Texas legislature
proceedings. No interpretation by
anyone -- just the word-for-word
action.
Go to www.texastribune.org and
Search for "82nd Session Transcripts."
I have to say I agree with Pedagogie Guy. All school districts
spend scads of money on sports, and
the whole undertaking is for a couple of bad reasons: state
funding depends on size of the
school enrollment, and sports are
the main thing which gets many
kids to school each day; and sports
supply the only entertainment in
many small communities.
A school district could cut out all the expenses involved with sports (stadiums, astroturf, uniforms, coaches, busses to take kids to other schools, gymnasiums, etc.)and instead pay the cable or
satellite TV bill for every family
in the school district and still
save money.
Put more of our money into academic
subjects. Many doctors, lawyers,
teachers, shopowners will come out
of our Wimberley schools, but how
many professional sports stars?
Pedagogie Guy, I hope you are serious but I had my doubts with that last paragraph, I hope that was sarcasm. York is a sports nut that would spend the district’s last dime on astroturf. His recent raise of $10k up to $110K was not deserved after his poor performance in the lack of attention and preparation for the opening of the $14 million Jacob’s Well Elementary. Remember there were no school zones or rainwater catchments provided. Only after pressure form the public and blame shifting did he try to do anything. We were very lucky that some kids weren’t killed.
If the sports programs are cut back, what will the “View” have to print on the first page? The parents of these NFL and NBA hopefuls should foot the bills, not the struggling property owners.
In fact, put more money into
vocational training instead of
into sports. As college gets more
and more expensive -- and many
college grads can't even find jobs -- high school grads will turn to jobs in trades that pay more than jobs college grads get anyhow. (Compare the earnings of a plumber in the business for 10 years to the earnings of a 10-year teacher.)
What happens is that the kid who
doesn't go to college AND who got
no vocational ed in high shool will
end up eventually getting some sort
of government aid (i.e., from us
taxpayers who have already paid once to educate the kid) to go to
a privately-run vocational school.
Those schools are notoriously bad
at preparing their students for
real-world jobs and for defrauding
the Federal or State government.
So change the high school curriculum. All the students should
still get a general education --
English, math, science, social
studies --, but let there be useful
classes for the non-college bound
students in the trades or arts
they want to pursue. Turn the
gymnasiums into classrooms for
auto repair, HVAC technicians,
dental assistans, etc.
Yes, yes, I know this will smack
to some of the European tradition
of 2-track education. But maybe
that works! And we wouldn't ask
the kids to pick a track as early
as they do (or used to) in Europe.
Besides, there are many kids who
don't even want to go to college;
it's just been drummed into their heads that they'll make more money if they go to college, and that is increasingly not true.
BTW, there are more and more
school districts each year which
cut out sports. As the Federal
govt and the states cut funds to
education, districts have to choose
between their primary mission
(academics) and everything else.
Sports can go. Let the interested
parents be the after-school
coaches, as they are for Little
League. We taxpayers didn't sign
on to provide astroturf and tennis
for our children; we just want them
to learn.
BTW #2 I'm a former teacher myself.
Another reason to cut out sports in school is that the coaches
usually aren't bright enough or
interested enough to teach English, math, or science, and so they major in something that will allow them to teach social studies. No wonder U.S. kids are near the bottom in knowledge of geography and history!
I was an honor student in high
school, but my history and "civics"
classes were taught by coaches,
and so, this day, history is
the biggest blank in my education.
No, of course Dwayne York is a stand up guy, or should I say "drinks up" guy.
Last year, York didn't oppose any of the three food establishments who wanted to sell unlimited liquor to potential lunch drunks along 2325 during school hours. In reality he encouraged it by saying the old BYOB rules allowed it anyway so why not let the TABC regulate it - yes, Dwayne, from way up in Austin.
In fact, only Dr. Yana Bland, the Board, and the parents at KAPS and the owner of Wimberley Montessori School stood up for the safety of the kids and opposed the unlimited drinking license during school hours. The WISD administrators and parents didn't make a sound about their kids possibly being hit and killed daytime drunk drivers during school hours.
And give big credit to Linda's Catering (no, I don't work there) for setting a great example by offering to limit alcohol consumption to two drinks during lunch - in essense forcing the other two owners into responsible business management.
Now hardcore budgeting has come down to the local school districts. We will see just how competent Dwayne York and his cadre of de facto church administrators really are.
Are the local Tea Parties ready for that truth?
Anon Mar 10, 1:16 PM said...
...put more money into
vocational training instead of
into sports. As college gets more
and more expensive..."
The key point here is "as colleges get more expensive..".
The class war bifurcation of education based on the unstated elitism being implemented by Republican budget cuts of tax-funded services for lower and middle class families - combined with their irresponsible tax cuts for the rich - will by its insidious nature create a trade vs. white collar workforce.
So if that is what the new American tax hating citizens want, then it won't matter if we put more money into high school vocational training instead of wasteful sports budgets.
However, if and when the American public ever wakes up to the fact that it is not taxes that is their problem - but unresolved anger at their aristocracy-rigged inability to again gain control of their jobs, wages and benefits, then Americans will finally get back to the business of real economic problem-solving.
When (and a big if) that awareness is acknowledged, the rich/corporate masters and their politician servants (along with the corporate media) will finally be held accountable for their betrayal of the American worker.
Clearly, now, there is no current politician or business leader with the courage to make that case. And if Americans keep voting to further dumb down our education system with budget cuts and tax cuts for the rich, we will certainly create a more hapless servant class to the elite plutocrats who already control most of the US economy. In the end, citizens will have no one to blame but themselves and their failure to see the truth.
It is obvious America cannot rely on either of the political parties or the Tea Party or the Libertarians to honestly acknowledge the truth about the US economy and its failing empire.
The best solution I can see is a combination of 1) true fiscal conservatism (absolutely no corporate welfare, including no Citizens United judicial activism) and 2) a healthy and constructive social liberalism (no big government oppression of women, gays, minorities, non-Christian religions, etc.).
I want to move forward, not backwards. Anyone interested?
Dwayne York just gave his wife a job as a computer teacher at Jacobs well elementary. She follows on the heels of the highly qualified and beloved Mrs.Thomas. I know all teachers are scared for their job's future so they hold their tounges so I will speak for them. We do not need a former coach superintendant that hands out jobs that used to belong to qualified teachers to his family members. If I recall correctly that is how the last super got fired.
I for one am tired of pretending this idiot has any creditability. He is a clown who was not qualified for his position when he slid into it after the last super was bought out.
His contract is now gone year to year. This means we don't have to buy out his contract and can send this joker packing without much finacial trouble. We need more community members to show up and toss this idiot hard questions that we all know he can't answer. The last meeting I attended he could not properly operate his own slide show presentation that was terribly put together. It is sad that we pay this man over 100 grand to drive our district into the ground.
Please support teachers and oust this shmuck that thinks the school superintendent position entitles him to hand out jobs to his family while demoting qualified teachers with impunity.
I agree with the last comment. I looked up his compensation and it is almost $120,000. He did not receive a pay cut his year yet preached about how we need to slash spending and budgets. $120,000 dollars is three teachers salaries at least. The only thing he gave up this year was free gas and free meals. All the while he cuts great teachers to aide positions and forces talented educators to surrounding communities so he can give a position to his wife. This comment made by the last post is true, I called the school and checked. Is his wife even qualified to teach a computer class? By state law there needs to be a CERTIFIED teacher in This position. So not only is partaking in blatant nepotism he is also breaking laws. Further more the position he filled with his wife was never posted. This is also aginst state mandated law. So can we oust this criminal? Yes, his contract has gone year to year. Let's send a message and run him out of town on a rail.
"But it is probably somewhat helpful to know that while Austin ISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen has the highest base salary of any superintendent in Central Texas at $283,000 - according to numbers provided by the Texas Education Agency - she also makes the least per enrolled student at $3.31.
Meanwhile, Wimberley ISD's Dwain York earns substantially less base pay at $120,500. But on a per student basis, he earns $51.98."
Can you say way over paid?
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