Texas -- a failed state

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

26 minutes ago, MrBig said:

Parents like this don’t understand that while school vouchers make it a possibility to send your child to an expensive private school, there is no law requiring these schools to accept students who are trying to use the vouchers. 

if you couldn’t afford that private school before vouchers , you won’t be able to afford it after vouchers 

[bolverk 30,317]

28 minutes ago, MrBig said:

Parents like this don’t understand that while school vouchers make it a possibility to send your child to an expensive private school, there is no law requiring these schools to accept students who are trying to use the vouchers. 

 

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

if you couldn’t afford that private school before vouchers , you won’t be able to afford it after vouchers 

Exactly. Just look at how private schools in Arkansas reacted to their voucher program--they simply raised tuition.

[Anastasis 23,716]

6 minutes ago, bolverk said:

 

Exactly. Just look at how private schools in Arkansas reacted to their voucher program--they simply raised tuition.

How much did they raise tuition?

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

How much did they raise tuition?

they exact same amount as the voucher ?

[texasdago 7,770]

Not sure but 95% of those using the voucher system were not using the public school system before.

Shocking...

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/10/11/arkansas-learns-report-95-of-voucher-students-did-not-attend-public-school-last-year

[Anastasis 23,716]

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

they exact same amount as the voucher ?

I am happy to consume whatever hard data you can share. 

[MrBig 5,626]

10 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

I am happy to consume whatever hard data you can share. 

https://www.kcrg.com/2024/05/17/princeton-study-private-school-tuitions-rise-after-state-voucher-rollout/?outputType=amp

https://azcir.org/news/2023/11/27/arizona-private-schools-hike-tuition-after-voucher-expansion/

[bolverk 30,317]

54 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

How much did they raise tuition?

I can't find the article about Arkansas that reported it last year, but here are examples in other states (quick google):

Iowa (30-40%): https://www.kcrg.com/2023/04/20/amid-efforts-make-private-schools-affordable-handful-schools-increase-tuition-prices/

Indiana (20%): https://flaglerlive.com/as-florida-floods-private-schools/

Arizona (10-20%): https://hechingerreport.org/arizona-gave-families-public-money-for-private-schools-then-private-schools-raised-tuition/

Arkansas: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/09/01/arkansas-learns-is-designed-to-make-rich-parents-richer

I'm sure you're aware, as has been discussed in this or the education thread, that the proposed voucher program in Texas would actually give more money in vouchers to private schools on a per-student basis than it allots for each student in a public school.

[Anastasis 23,716]

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

I can't find the article about Arkansas that reported it last year, but here are examples in other states (quick google):

Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

[Huckleberry 34,579]

Sure, if the intent of the voucher system were actually to improve education in the state.

[bolverk 30,317]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

Well, yeah, I agree, but I honestly don't think the governor or our legislature gives a damn. If they were concerned about private school tuition rates, why would they give more for a kid to go to private schools than public schools? 

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,624]

2 hours ago, Anastasis said:

I am happy to consume whatever hard data you can share. 

Are you a Conehead?

[Kel Varnsen 8,748]

Also no accountability of spending, no state standards for students, no requirement for special need students.

Edited August 13 by Kel Varnsen

[Anastasis 23,716]

 

8 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Well, yeah, I agree, but I honestly don't think the governor or our legislature gives a damn.

 

I'd much rather them spend the time, energy, and effort on fixing the recapture system. 

[bolverk 30,317]

16 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

I'd much rather them spend the time, energy, and effort on fixing the recapture system. 

Again, I agree, but the problem is that they want to pump public tax dollars into religious privates and charters and want public schools to fail. Take a gander at what's going on with Houston ISD, or consider how much Robin Hood is draining from Austin ISD. If the end result isn't killing the state's public education system, we may well have the most incompetent state leadership in the country.

But, of course, we also know about the massive contribution that guy from Pennsylvania contributed to Abbott, so all of this could also just be chalked up to rampant corruption.

[atomheartbevo 90,638]

3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

if you couldn’t afford that private school before vouchers , you won’t be able to afford it after vouchers 

3 hours ago, texasdago said:

Not sure but 95% of those using the voucher system were not using the public school system before.

Shocking...

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/10/11/arkansas-learns-report-95-of-voucher-students-did-not-attend-public-school-last-year

I’ve been telling friend and relatives for a while who are outside of the major cities/suburbs, but still back this, that they aren’t going to get some fancy private school for their kids in Bumfuck, Texas - instead they’re going to help increase revenue for private schools in Sugar Land, and Katy, and Dallas, and Austin, and San Antonio, etc.

Some of these people are too fucking stupid to realize they are going to help subsidize schools in the more liberal areas of the state, schools that would never take their kids.

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I’ve been telling friend and relatives for a while who are outside of the major cities/suburbs, but still back this, that they aren’t going to get some fancy private school for their kids in Bumfuck, Texas - instead they’re going to help increase revenue for private schools in Sugar Land, and Katy, and Dallas, and Austin, and San Antonio, etc.

Some of these people are too fucking stupid to realize they are going to help subsidize schools in the more liberal areas of the state, schools that would never take their kids.

they’re going to get a tele teacher from vietnam, with a local hired to babysit

[Anastasis 23,716]

31 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Again, I agree, but the problem is that they want to pump public tax dollars into religious privates and charters and want public schools to fail.

We should pump tax dollars into whatever educational systems can demonstrate performance on outcomes and objective measures of educational attainment. And I say that as one with three kids in the public school system. 

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

Can imagine if Walz was governor of Texas ???

 

name one thing Abbott has improved in his 27 years in office 

Edited August 13 by tx 3 putt

[Willfully Horn 8,259]

Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

[MrBig 5,626]

7 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

The pay difference between teachers vs Assistant Principals & Principals is ridiculous. My sister was a middle school teacher for 5 years making around $45K a year with a Masters Degree. She only taught because she wanted to become a Principal. So in her 6th year she got a job as a middle school AP and her salary jumped to around $70K and she was doing a lot less work because teaching is a lot of shit work. In her 8th year she finally got called up to the big show and became a high school principal and makes about $120K a year. If she was still a teacher in her 8th year she would be making around $65K.

[atomheartbevo 90,638]

1 hour ago, Willfully Horn said:

Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

Ironically, George W Bush ran with this as a major part of his first gubernatorial campaign.

[Satchel 6,982]

14 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Can imagine if Walz was governor of Texas ???

 

name one thing Abbott has improved in his 27 years in office 

The hillbilly reputation of Texas around the world.

[mdmost 43,953]

Seriously, you gun nuts. Fuck off. 

 

[atomheartbevo 90,638]

22 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Seriously, you gun nuts. Fuck off. 

 

You know if the Texas Legislature forces the issue, there'll be a shitload of open-carry idiots that scare a lot of families away and screwing with the state fair in general.

[landman 564]

23 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

Texas should invest in its teachers, and incentivize their best performance, and then get the fuck out of their classrooms.

Maybe we should consider creating a state lottery to help fund education...

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,908]

On 8/12/2024 at 7:21 PM, tx 3 putt said:

they exact same amount as the voucher ?

Plus 10% for shipping and handling

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

4 minutes ago, landman said:

Maybe we should consider creating a state lottery to help fund education...

open 2 casinos outside the top 10 biggest cities and this state is rolling in money 

[YGIFS 19,458]

Going back to DeLoss, we’ve fought the conferences, TV networks( and the Cotton Bowl/State Fair themselves to keep this thing as it’s has been for over a century. 

We and OU put up a lotta money over the years, left a lot more on the table with other offers. Got the much needed upgrades, even better train and bus service at the peak of the Fair. And all the with the understanding that the game would always be televised at 11:00 or 2:30.  So that families And fans could enjoy the environs after or before the game, and make their way out before too late.  

Sure there’s public drunkenness, foul language, and the occasional donnybrooks.  Nothing we don’t see at  most of our road games.  But open carry that day?  That’s just a bullet looking for a problem to solve.  Poor ingress/egress. Tight crowds. Hours of day drinking.  Two hateful fantasies who sometimes don’t like the outcome.  Gee, what could possibly go wrong?  Oh wait,I know.  Teenager in the Midway playing a shooting game with pistol or rifle.  Good guy with gun drops his 14 empty wax cups and is too angry about the gAme and too fucked up to read the situation.  

I wonder how many coupons a box of 50 Rounds will cost?  

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

All those counties need a good purge !

 

[gmr548 16,691]

2 hours ago, mdmost said:

Seriously, you gun nuts. Fuck off. 

 

 

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

You know if the Texas Legislature forces the issue, there'll be a shitload of open-carry idiots that scare a lot of families away and screwing with the state fair in general.

I guess I shouldn't have but I figured firearms were already banned at the fair seeing as you go through a metal detector and all. That's on me.

The sad part is I agree with the @atomheartbevo - the attention called to this makes me think "Great, now dipshits are going to bring guns to the fair in droves."

[atomheartbevo 90,638]

1 hour ago, gmr548 said:

The sad part is I agree with the @atomheartbevo - the attention called to this makes me think "Great, now dipshits are going to bring guns to the fair in droves."

Like YGiFS said, it’s not the best atmosphere to begin with (one school’s fan got him nuts chowed down on by another school’s fan after the OU game) and mixing armed Okies and Texas fans and alcohol….

[SydneyCarton 49,477]

6 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

All those counties need a good purge !

 

Look at all of those fat slobs. 

[WBT 20,969]

On 8/12/2024 at 9:26 PM, Anastasis said:

Seems reasonable that a state voucher program should track tuition increases and remove the school from eligibility if they appear to be gaming the system.  

How is following the laws of supply/demand gaming the system?

It's an inevitability of creating the shitty system.

[Brian Fantana 6,862]

Dumbest state in the Union.

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,279]

Would the State Fair be considered an amusement park?

[Eskimohorn 5,682]

We should pump tax dollars into whatever educational systems can demonstrate performance on outcomes and objective measures of educational attainment. And I say that as one with three kids in the public school system. 

Or, hear me out. The objective measures strongly correlate with socioeconomics. For the most part, when the state test schools it’s measuring how where and how students live.

Here’s a spoiler: schools with high number of struggling, homeless, ESL, kids do worse on tests and they need more resources.

What if we hired someone to head the TEA who taught and lead public schools. Understand how they work and sought to help schools when they struggle? Then they could hire other people who know how schools operate. Also hire people that love public education and enjoy their work. Then have the state legislature provide funding at above average levels.

I know. Crazy talk.

[mdmost 43,953]

26 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Would the State Fair be considered an amusement park?

No. The State Fair is a non-profit organization. They lease the buildings and grounds in Fair Park from the city of Dallas. I don't see how this is any different than the NRA banning guns from their convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas...which they lease from the Dallas Convention Bureau, a government run agency.  Seems the convention center is now managed by an outside group and not the city of Dallas but my point still stands. The city of Dallas built the thing with taxpayer funds. 

Edited August 14 by mdmost

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,725]

38 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Dumbest state in the Union.

He most likely doesn't really care too much. It's just another example of Paxton using his office to continue to show how he's owning the libs. 

[GreenspointTexas 9,960]

48 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

Dumbest state in the Union.

Yes, we are

[David Dennison 19,520]

"Load up on guns, bring your friends."

Edited August 14 by David Dennison

[CooterBrown 18,287]

I guess we all have freedom to bring guns into the state capitol now since it's government property? 

[mdmost 43,953]

Again, the party of limited government. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,583]

On 8/12/2024 at 10:47 PM, tx 3 putt said:

they’re going to get a tele teacher from vietnam, with a local hired to babysit

If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,725]

8 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

don't be so greedy. 50/40/10 split.

• 50 for you
• 40 for the church
• 10 to the pastor's brother-in-law.

 

[tx 3 putt 78,671]

14 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

I’ll go recruit teachers for you in Vietnam !!!!

[CooterBrown 18,287]

17 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

If I were an amoral shitbag, I'd start an online school company, and get a big cross to hang around my neck and a couple American flag and cross lapel pins. Then I'd  hit every Baptist/Church of Christ/Evangelical strip mall church in rural Texas and tell them they can become a "Private School" for the purpose of collecting voucher money from the State of Texas. We will provide the learning platform, you provide a couple church ladies to make sure the kids are working and not sharing answers (wink, wink) and we'll split the money 60/40. The 60% is for me of course, because we're providing the "Learning platform". 

If you allow bare handed spanking of little boys, you could get a 99/1 split from those Baptist preachers.

[Pescado_Rojo 19,583]

9 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

don't be so greedy. 50/40/10 split.

• 50 for you
• 40 for the church
• 10 to the pastor's brother-in-law.

 

Fine, you drive a hard bargain. We'll go 50/50, but the Pastor has to pay his BIL out of his 50%. Call him the PE coach or something. 

[Anastasis 23,716]

40 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Or, hear me out. The objective measures strongly correlate with socioeconomics. For the most part, when the state test schools it’s measuring how where and how students live.

Here’s a spoiler: schools with high number of struggling, homeless, ESL, kids do worse on tests and they need more resources.

What if we hired someone to head the TEA who taught and lead public schools. Understand how they work and sought to help schools when they struggle? Then they could hire other people who know how schools operate. Also hire people that love public education and enjoy their work. Then have the state legislature provide funding at above average levels.

I know. Crazy talk.

All sounds reasonable to me. Throw in some accountability for performance and mechanisms for parents of children in failing schools to exercise options.

[Chewbacca 7,829]

3 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

Dumbest state in the Union.

How you motherfuckers didn't put a stake in his heart when you had the chance, I'll never understand.