Critique of Commentary on Texas Education

The intended audiences for this commentary are the public and the taxpayers. The authors who wrote this commentary are state representatives. Rob Eissler is the Chairman of the Texas House Education Committee and as an elected member he is very creditable and knowledgeable about education. Lois Kolkhorst is the Chair of The Texas House Appropriations subcommittee and is also an elected representative very creditable credentials and experience to comment of this topic.
Their argument is against the attacks from State Representative Eddie Rodriguez that was made against his partisan counterparts and Speaker Tom Craddick. Their claim is a counterattack with evidence to support their views. Rodriguez mentioned the current legislation “shirking their duty” on public education. They claim the truth is that Texas has always made public education its top priority. They give evidence to that claim, saying that education receives the largest portion of the state budget, nearly 59 cents to every dollar. They claim that Texas teachers aren’t among the lowest paid in the nation, as Rodriguez alleges, but they do admit that teachers’ salaries in Texas are only slightly below the national average. They say that misleading information is comparing Texas’ teachers’ salaries to higher cost of living states like New York. They make the assumption that Rodriguez is saying that appropriating more money is all we need to do. They disagree and think other issues should be addressed as well. The representatatives say that we must be loyal to the mission of educating students and doing this involves good teachers not just a blank check. The noted that Texas has established one of the most ambitious pay-for –performance pilot programs, rewarding excellence among teachers. It was also stated, last session lawmakers provided 300 million dollars to retain teachers in math and science areas and mentioned 145.5 million dollars in financial aid to low income student. A final counterattack was made against Rodriguez’s claim that the former Texas Tomorrow Fund is closed and evidence was given that an innovation fund like The Texas Promise Fund has taken its place. The members close their arguments by giving their opinions about the fact twisting assaults on the issue, stating it will not solve the problem. They admit the balance of they taxpayer wallet and education costs will always be volatile and as two leaders involved in these issues they promise to make the public education system the best it can be.
I would not agree with this commentary. I feel that they made a good argument for their part in Texas education but I don’t feel their argument was valid enough to support their claim. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Texas has made education it’s top priority without facts to support this claim. I would like to have seen more examples of how Texas has made education its top priority currently and in the past. I will agree that 59 cents to every dollar seems very good but compared to what? I would question why Texas’s teachers get paid below the national average if education was truly our top priority. I would also like the representatives to elaborate more on the subject of good teachers and how this has to do with being loyal to the mission. How does money and good teachers correlate? Appropriating more money, as Rodriguez claims, could be an asset to our education system after ensuring our teachers are being reimbursed for all their hard work. I would agree that this is a fluctuating debate and I value their commitment to being the best leaders they can.
The link to the article: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/10/1015eissler_edit.html