Houston Democrats

Hey, Lyn. I have signed the petition, and I'll have Ron sign it when he gets home. Ron is a retired educator and his daughter is a middle school science teacher, so this idiotic bill affects both of them. Ron was in public education for 32 years and receives his retirement benefits through TRS. Meredith has been teaching for roughly 10 years now.

Rethugs have been trying to get their hands on teacher retirement for years! It is one of the most fiscally sound retirement plans in the nation. They would love to be able to dip their nasty little hands into the fund and gut it.

This bill is just another way for Governor Goodhair to dissuade anybody from getting into public education. The Republican plan is to gut funding for public education and make it so horrible for public school teachers that those in the teaching field now will quit or retire and those with plans on entering public education will give up and find some other vocation.

Teachers haven't had a raise in pay in YEARS! The Lege is attempting to cut retirement benefits! The idiot Bush administration enacted No Child Left Behind and forces schools to comply with inane standards or lose their federal funding! No money is allotted for public education! Teachers are forced to TEACH TO THE TAKS TEST! Children are NOT receiving a well rounded education.

I don't think any of us who have loved ones in the field of public education need any more proof that Bush and his cohorts in crime want to kill public education.

Of course, Governor Goodhair gets to send his brats to private school using our taxpayer dollars! Private schools are a crock of crap. They'll tell parents anything and pass the brats so long as mummy and daddy keep stroking those fat checks! The Chimpanzee is a product of Andover Prep School and Yale University where he majored in dope smoking, coke sniffing, cheerleading and branding people's butts with hot coat hangers. Sounds like he got quite an education!

Is it any wonder the country is in the shape it's in?!

We have the product of a private school education sitting at the helm of government.

Texas Teacher Retirement System (TRS) was once the envy of all until the legislature intentionally began undermining its economic base over ten years ago. Since then I have seen a steady erosion by increased insurance costs and market prices while there have been no increases in the state contribution. The state of Texas used to fund almost forty cents on every dollar of public school spending. That has shrunk to less than 28% beginning with Republican control of the legislature. To make up the difference, local school districts were forced to either raise property taxes (which are capped by state law) or raise property evaluations, a back door tax. Now the legislators are reducing property taxes while simultaneously pushing the voucher system favoring private schools. The people of Texas had better wake up to what is happening to their public school system. In order for fascism to ascend and maintain power the masses must be uneducated, dumb, bleating sheep.