Texas GOP Vote

Senator Dan Patrick (SD7), chair of the powerful Senate Education Committee, has recently introduced legislation that would open up the strangle-hold government-sponsored monopoly that the education establishment enjoys in public education. His reasoning is simple and time-honored—“competition is good.” It doesn’t matter much what the competing items are—widgets, services, commodities, or even education—the very existence of competition improves the quality of all competitors.   Read more »

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. This includes our education system where, according to the Comptroller's 2010-2011 FAST report, 60% of the State's general revenue is spent. However, Texas has a big problem is our low graduation rate, which a report by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice in 2008 found to be at only 67%. Factoring in costs associated with lost revenue from taxes and fees, increased Medicaid enrollment, and increased incarceration rates, the report estimated that the annual public cost associated with the high dropout rate is $377 million.   Read more »

Excerpts from Phyllis Schlafly Report April 11, 2012

Charter schools were presented as a way to have more parental control of public school education. Charter schools are financed by local taxpayers plus federal grants. Charter schools are able to hire and fire teachers, administrators and staff to avoid control by bureaucrats and the teachers’ unions. There are some good charter schools, but loose controls have allowed a very different kind of school to emerge.

A path has been opened for foreigners to run schools at taxpayers’ expense, without much news coverage.

As Republicans we believe in the free market. We believe the private sector is where innovation will occur and that government programs could be more efficient if businesses got involved.

Since we believe these two principles, I think it is incumbent upon us as Republicans to highlight businesses that are impacting sectors of society traditionally reserved for government bureaucracies.   Read more »

The harsh realities of public education in the U.S. depicted in Waiting for “Superman” (2010) bring to light, not only the importance of school choice, but also the need for parents to take an active role in their children's education.

Liberal documentarian Davis Guggenheim portrays surprisingly conservative views on education, showing the struggles of families vying to get their children out of low-performing schools and into charter schools.

The U.S. is ranked 14th, 17th and 25th in reading, science and math, respectively, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Ken Mercer has been appointed as the Chairman of the committee on school initiatives. This committee handles many policies regarding charter schools and will play an integral role in Texas education reform over the next several years.

Recently Ken Mercer talked about the uphill battle charter schools face in Texas and dispels several myths which have been told.   Read more »