Winehole23
09-24-2010, 03:06 AM
Texas sues feds over education money (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7214265.html)
Governor says state needs the $830 million to keep teachers
By JOE HOLLEY
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 23, 2010, 9:06PMg
A tussle between the Republican governor and a Democratic lawmaker escalated to the courts Thursday when Gov. Rick Perry announced that Texas is suing to get its $830 million share of federal emergency funding allocated to prevent teacher layoffs.
Texas has been blocked from its share of the $10 billion package because of legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, that requires the governor to promise to keep state school funding at its current level through 2013. Doggett said his amendment was designed to prevent the governor from using federal stimulus money to supplant rather than supplement state education spending. No other state had to make such a promise.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit despite assurances from Education Secretary Arne Duncan that Texas eventually will get its share of the money. Duncan spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya said Texas will have until September 2012 to reapply and that the funds will not be spent elsewhere before then.
Abbott said the immediate goal of the legal action is to get the funds before next summer, likely the earliest the money could show up in state coffers once the legislature has set school funding levels in the next two-year budget.
Perry argued that he cannot comply with the Doggett requirement without violating the state Constitution, because the governor cannot appropriate money or obligate a future legislature.
"Texas taxpayers are footing the bill for the education jobs fund, and Texas' hardworking teachers deserve their share of that money," the governor said.
$18 billion cloud
Doggett noted that Texas used about $3.2 billion in federal stimulus dollars last year to help balance its budget.
"Thanks to the governor, (Texas school districts) get no money now, and had there been no such amendment, any money they got would have likely been subtracted from state aid," Doggett said.
The legislature convenes in January under the cloud of a budget shortfall estimated at more than $18 billion.
The education jobs bill would have meant more than $130 million for Houston-area school districts.
On the campaign trail in recent months, Perry has criticized education initiatives from the Obama administration. In his primary race against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, he said that the $4 billion education reform initiative called Race to the Top "smacks of a federal takeover of public schools."
Too many strings?
Texas could have received as much as $700 million, but Perry refused to compete, saying too many strings were attached. He also said the state's share was a pittance compared to the $32 billion Texas allocated to public schools in the 2010-11 budget.
Bill Miller, an Austin-based political consultant who advises both Republicans and Democrats, noted that most politicians don't worry a whole lot about consistency.
"Taking money from the federal government last spring was not a good idea, because he was running against a candidate from Washington. Now he's not," Miller said. "No matter what a politician thinks of a funding source, philosophically, they always want money. It's kind of like, 'I don't like you, but if you've got money I'll be nice to you.' "
The campaign of Perry's Democratic opponent, Bill White, accused the governor of "theatrics" and "partisan sparring."
"Just when it looked like the dollars for Texas students were headed our way and the political games were over, Perry decided he wanted to keep playing and filed another lawsuit to create a circus," White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said.
Governor says state needs the $830 million to keep teachers
By JOE HOLLEY
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 23, 2010, 9:06PMg
A tussle between the Republican governor and a Democratic lawmaker escalated to the courts Thursday when Gov. Rick Perry announced that Texas is suing to get its $830 million share of federal emergency funding allocated to prevent teacher layoffs.
Texas has been blocked from its share of the $10 billion package because of legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, that requires the governor to promise to keep state school funding at its current level through 2013. Doggett said his amendment was designed to prevent the governor from using federal stimulus money to supplant rather than supplement state education spending. No other state had to make such a promise.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit despite assurances from Education Secretary Arne Duncan that Texas eventually will get its share of the money. Duncan spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya said Texas will have until September 2012 to reapply and that the funds will not be spent elsewhere before then.
Abbott said the immediate goal of the legal action is to get the funds before next summer, likely the earliest the money could show up in state coffers once the legislature has set school funding levels in the next two-year budget.
Perry argued that he cannot comply with the Doggett requirement without violating the state Constitution, because the governor cannot appropriate money or obligate a future legislature.
"Texas taxpayers are footing the bill for the education jobs fund, and Texas' hardworking teachers deserve their share of that money," the governor said.
$18 billion cloud
Doggett noted that Texas used about $3.2 billion in federal stimulus dollars last year to help balance its budget.
"Thanks to the governor, (Texas school districts) get no money now, and had there been no such amendment, any money they got would have likely been subtracted from state aid," Doggett said.
The legislature convenes in January under the cloud of a budget shortfall estimated at more than $18 billion.
The education jobs bill would have meant more than $130 million for Houston-area school districts.
On the campaign trail in recent months, Perry has criticized education initiatives from the Obama administration. In his primary race against U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, he said that the $4 billion education reform initiative called Race to the Top "smacks of a federal takeover of public schools."
Too many strings?
Texas could have received as much as $700 million, but Perry refused to compete, saying too many strings were attached. He also said the state's share was a pittance compared to the $32 billion Texas allocated to public schools in the 2010-11 budget.
Bill Miller, an Austin-based political consultant who advises both Republicans and Democrats, noted that most politicians don't worry a whole lot about consistency.
"Taking money from the federal government last spring was not a good idea, because he was running against a candidate from Washington. Now he's not," Miller said. "No matter what a politician thinks of a funding source, philosophically, they always want money. It's kind of like, 'I don't like you, but if you've got money I'll be nice to you.' "
The campaign of Perry's Democratic opponent, Bill White, accused the governor of "theatrics" and "partisan sparring."
"Just when it looked like the dollars for Texas students were headed our way and the political games were over, Perry decided he wanted to keep playing and filed another lawsuit to create a circus," White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said.