Speaker Joe Straus has raised questions about what a $2 billion draw-down of money from an endowment would mean for public schools in the future, even if voters approve the idea.
Here is Straus' statement on the constitutional amendment proposed by nine State Board of Education members, issued by the speaker's office late Friday:
"I appreciate efforts to find ways to minimize the impact of a difficult budget situation on our public schools. As members of the House learned during our budget deliberations, there are no easy answers."
"Texas has a long history of protecting our permanent school endowment funds, and I'm concerned that using those constitutionally protected funds in the short term could threaten the future needs of our growing student population."
"The House looks forward to working with the Senate to find other ways to balance the state budget while prioritizing public education."
So, reading through all the nuance-laden statements by the Big 3, what do we have?
It appears that Straus and Gov. Rick Perry are, at least on first blush, against the idea of a one-time withdrawal, which the nine board members touted as a way to help avert teacher layoffs and local school property tax increases. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst did not specifically endorse it, though he seemed more positive and made cryptic remarks suggesting this could be prologue to some kind of maneuver involving the Permanent School Fund this session. Of course, if you're looking for prologue, you might start with a House Appropriations vote Thursday in favor a bill by Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, to settle a four-year spat between lawmakers and Attorney General Greg Abbott over how earnings from the real estate portion of the fund are handled. It would free up $400 million for the two-year budget lawmakers are struggling to write. Here are some background stories written by my press corps colleagues Peggy Fikac of Hearst Newspapers, who wrote one about Orr's bill, and Austin American-Statesman reporter Kate Alexander, whose Saturday article explains the $2 billion idea in greater detail.
Warning: There will be a quiz Monday. Brush up on your basis points.
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/straus-cautious-on-nine-school.html
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