Save Texas Schools Gets Back in the Game
Protesters call foul on education funding
By Richard Whittaker, 5:15PM, Sat. Mar. 24, 2012
Teachers, students, families and politicians gathered at the capitol today as part of the second Save Texas Schools rally. Many spoke to the crowd, but it may have been John Kuhn, superintendent of Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District, who finally found the perfect metaphor for Texas school funding: Football.
Kuhn was one of a list list of speakers that covered the panoply of public school advocates. Democrats like Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Reps. Donna Howard, Mark Strama, Eddie Rodriguez and Elliot Naishtat shared a stage with Republicans like State Board of Education member Thomas Ratliff, union leaders, school administrators and students who addressed a large crowd on the south steps.
Last year, Kuhn reached celebrity status with his now famous pastiche of the "Alamo Letter", comparing the plight of Texas schools to that of William B. Travis and his forces. This year, he returned with another powerful metaphor:
All the speakers came back to the same point: That the state had allowed funding to drop by $500 per student, and that the process of fixing that funding collapse cannot wait until next session. As Texas Association of School Administrators former president John Folks noted, "The fight begins now with elections, not when the legislature comes in."If the teacher's the quarterback, Congress is the offensive line. Their performance impacts our performance, but they keep letting us get sacked by poverty, broken homes, student mobility, hunger and healthcare. And they just say oops as that line backer buries his face mask in our chest. And we get back to that huddle and they say, 'You've got to complete your passes, teacher.' We're aware of that. You've got to make your blocks, Legislature. Give us time to stand in the pocket and complete these passes.
Read more about the demonstration in the next issue of the Chronicle, on news stands March 29.
Got something to say on the subject? Send a letter to the editor.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Richard Whittaker, Nov. 15, 2016
Richard Whittaker, May 13, 2016
Abby Johnston, Feb. 22, 2013
Richard Whittaker, March 30, 2012
March 28, 2024
March 29, 2024
School Finance, Save Texas Schools, John Kuhn