Burn vouchers, not coal

The education elites in Texas are preparing another frontal assault on public schools. They had a rally, they've got support from Governor 39% and Lite Governor Dewfus, and the Republicans in the Lege are going to try again to get something done on vouchers. My blog hermanos push back. Capitol Annex:

I double dog dare Leininger to approach some African Americans or Latinos who lived through the Civil Rights Movement in Texas and tell them how vouchers are a civil right. If he comes out alive, I’d love to hear what he has to say.

Burnt Orange (Sam Jones):

Yes indeed; those poor, poor children. I know it must be terrifying for some to think of sending their kids through the public school system. With the failing test scores, prevailing presence of drugs and gangs, and the underpaid teacher force, it's a wonder that any of us went to public school at all...

Texas Kaos (lightseeker):

Texas yearly per pupil spending is $1,239. The schools are supposed to get 60% of that from the state and the rest from local property taxes. The state has consistently underfunded their part. This is one of the reasons for the endless increases in local property taxes. In addition, the state has continually tacked on more and more unfunded mandates on the local districts, further complicating their funding woes.

Charles Kuffner:

It's just a shame that no one ran against State Sen. Kyle Janek, who will be filing a pro-voucher bill, last year. Maybe he'd have met the same fate as some of Leininger's other minions. Some people need the message delivered to them personally, I guess.

South Texas Chisme:

The Texas Public Policy Foundation responds using Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, data. These people don't believe in pre-K education.

Hal at Half Empty:

I think it’s time for James Leininger to take stock of his grand plan. He has fewer supporters in the legislature in this session than last, and the vote just isn’t there. Besides that, he has just illustrated for us one of the less obvious reasons why school voucher programs are a bad idea. What if someone pulls the plug on the voucher system, like Leininger plans to do with his program? Private schools will turn out their voucher students by the thousands, leaving them no choice but to go back to the public schools, which will have no choice but to admit them. These will be schools that will have been underfunded for years because the voucher system redirected funds from public schools to private schools.

And another reason to rethink school vouchers? No one wants them.

So my solution is that we gather up all the vouchers and use them to generate the electricity that TXU wants to build coal-burning plants for. Speaking of rallies, "Stop the Coal Rush!" will be the fun one this weekend.

And when we finally run out of those, we can burn James Leininger and his sycophants in Austin, because that natural gas will last for centuries.