Every single one of us is represented by a senator and a House member in the Texas Legislature. Those folks are discussing and ultimately voting on hundreds of issues that affect our lives and our pocketbooks.
I get overwhelmed by all the work they do in just 140 days every two years, so I rely on news reports and special interest groups to keep me informed and focused.
Everyone agrees that this session is about less, not more: Our revenue shortfall is estimated as high as $27 billion. With less revenue, of course, comes less spending (and new ways to raise money).
My biggest concerns are cuts in services to the folks who need them the most (the elderly, impoverished children, the mentally ill) and cuts in public schools.
To broaden my perspective, this week I spoke with the president of one of the groups I belong to — the PTA.
Sharon Goldblatt of Plano leads the Texas Parent Teacher Association, the oldest and largest child advocacy group in the state. There are almost 600,000 state members, and our cumulative concerns are greater than campus fundraisers, playground equipment and spirit stores. The PTA’s legislative priorities include the classroom but extend beyond.
“I have to be optimistic,” Goldblatt says. “Will there be changes? Yes. Are there a lot of things they have to do deal with? Yes. But it’s not a situation where we can give up.”
Some of what the PTA hopes legislators will deal with this session:
Pursue an adequate and equitable solution for school funding while maintaining accountability and responsibility for educating the whole child.
Children need choices beyond core subjects, Goldblatt says, to help them discover what they’re going to do the rest of their lives. The PTA wants to maintain physical education, the arts and other classes to give students plenty of choices.
The group also advocates pre-kindergarten class, a cap on classroom sizes and maintained funding levels, allowing for anticipated growth.
Ban possession and distribution of synthetic cannabinoids such as K2 or Spice and educate the public about their harmful effects.
Goldblatt serves on Sen. Florence Shapiro’s K2 task force, with the goal of passing a statewide ban on the synthetic marijuana-type substance.
“It’s now on the market for our children and anyone who wants to purchase it,” Goldblatt says. “It’s marked ‘not for human consumption,’ but because it’s legal, people think it’s safe.”
Pass a cyberbullying law.
The current bullying laws don’t account for cyberbullying, Goldblatt says, and they don’t allow school districts to become involved in activity off campus.
“We want to make sure they’re enabled to consider what happens off campus,” she says. “We don’t want to monitor people 24 hours a day, but we do want to consider what happens, what affects individual students so they’re not afraid to come to school.”
Support healthier food choices.
Goldblatt points to the Farm to School program as an example of innovative programs that promote healthier food. Farm to School gets fresh produce into schools at favorable funding rates, she says.
Pass smoke-free laws.
“A lot of young people don’t have a choice about working,” Goldblatt says. “And a lot of them work in restaurants where smoking is permitted. They’re subjected to secondhand smoke, which is harmful to their health.”
Maintain funding for clean school buses.
Too many school buses emit harmful toxins, Goldblatt says, afflicting kids on the bus more than the folks outside. If new buses aren’t possible, the old ones need to be retrofitted.
After that long list, I asked her what she, as a mom, considers the top priority.
“No. 1 would be funding,” she says. “Education should be viewed as an investment in the future. Not an expense.”
Tyra Damm is a Briefing columnist. E-mail her at tyradamm@gmail.com.
Are your priorities the same as the Texas PTA’s? Are there other issues you’re passionate about? Tell your representatives how you would vote on specific issues. To find the name and contact information for your state senator and representative, go to www.fyi.legis.state.tx.usand enter your address. To track legislation, go to www.capitol.state.tx.us.
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