Texas Conservative Lobbyist News: Texas Public School Turning to Parents for Support
The following is a digest of an article found at the Texas Tribune. The Texas Lobby Group is posting this summary as a public service for Texas lobbyists, Texas politicians and political consultants, Texas government consultants, and other interested parties.
Federal and state money granted to the public school system is being stretched too thin. This has left public schools all across America severely lacking in performance and atmosphere. Schools are struggling with standardized testing, tenure, and a massive cut in funding as of last year. To a certain extent, parents give a lot to public schools. They often donate their time, and put on fundraisers and fight to keep extracurricular activities. In some places, parents have really begun to amplify their time and resources. In Austin Texas, Casis Elementary School is a prime example of this movement toward a higher concentration of parental assistance in the schools.
At a nearby middle school, O. Henry, parents got together and raised 350,000 dollars to install seven new teaching positions. Casis Elementary managed to raise 90,000 dollars to install new carpeting, also the work of involved parents. A determined parent is a force to be reckoned with, and a sizeable group of them working towards a goal can yield some remarkable results. These movements occurred as a result of state budget cuts, and to replace items that needed replacing.
“There is a long history of private philanthropy in public schools. But the elimination of more than $5 billion in state funding for public education in the last legislative session has ratcheted up the pressure on parents to open their pocketbooks. And while no one argues that a local community’s support of its schools is a negative, the influx of private money concerns civil rights advocates who say it only exacerbates the existing inequities in the public school system.”
But what about areas that suffer economically? It’s great that many communities are able to rally together and raise private funds for their schools, but what about those who can’t? If Texas becomes too reliant on private fundraisers and parents to care for the public school system, there are many schools that will continue to struggle. Hopefully, organizations can be made of people who are willing to donate their time/resources towards helping public schools in their area. If this can be done, then maybe some of the benefits can trickle throughout public schools, regardless of their economic status.
Read the original article here.