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PaperclipPerfector  8mo ago (text post)   29310 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 4, 2024

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Lurches might not be the right word but it's definitely something more than drifts or moves towards. I've lived in Texas for more than 20 years, and this past year is the first time that state politics has really impacted my life in a meaningful way. Abbot's fight for vouchers has had the side effect of starving urban school districts, who are unable to raise funding because the state takes the majority of their property tax revenue through the "robin hood" program (and no longer even uses it for education -- now it just goes into the state general fund. It's purely kleptocratic now in a way that I don't believe it always was). My school district is getting rid of librarians and counselors as they can no longer afford them, cutting gifted and talented programs (very much done to piss off the rich -- it's not saving much money but it generates lots of ire), and generally laying off teachers and increasing class sizes. It feels like a game of chicken between the governor and the school district, and right now Abbot is winning (at least from my standpoint as angry parent).

The irony is that school vouchers are not popular in rural districts, where public school tend to be the largest employer. I'm curious how this plays out but I'd really like them to get on with it already, declare a victor in this round of fights and go back to governing.

Also on the lurch -- the republican platforms first plank is completely abolishing property taxes (this was discussed a few months back). There are a number of similarly ludicrous ideas on there -- again -- if it's not a lurch it's definitely something out of the ordinary.

Abbot's fight for vouchers has had the side effect of starving urban school districts, who are unable to raise funding because the state takes the majority of their property tax revenue through the "robin hood" program (and no longer even uses it for education -- now it just goes into the state general fund. It's purely kleptocratic now in a way that I don't believe it always was). My school district is getting rid of librarians and counselors as they can no longer afford them, cutting gifted and talented programs (very much done to piss off the rich -- it's not saving much money but it generates lots of ire), and generally laying off teachers and increasing class sizes.

That sounds awesome. Cutting government funds to religious schools is something I support wholesale.

He hasn’t cut government schools, and the revenue restrictions are unrelated to the voucher fight.

Abolishing property taxes is, per the numbers, actually pretty doable. It would probably entail restructuring some county-level spending but it’s not a pie-in-the-sky idea.

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