Placido Salazar psalazar9@satx.rr.

com Urgent Action-Save Texas Schools Legislative Update

LtGov Dewhurst: "Education is Our Freedom and Freedom Should Be Everybody's Business" is the motto which Dr. Hector P. Garcia (Founder) chose for the American GI Forum - and for good reason. Our childrens education and their future should not be FOR SALE to the for profit millionaire charter school profiteers. With The State of Texas at the bottom of the other 49 states in education and a school drop-out rate of up to 70% in some of our schools, no politician in her/his right mind, should be removing even one cent, from public school funding. Those who shamelessly place their personal or political financial gain ahead of our childrens education - and Im not just talking about unscrupulous, profiteering politicians as those who illegally removed $5.4 Billion from the Permanent Education Fund, are in fact robbing our childrens future, and should be ashamed of themselves. We pay now or (our innocent children will) pay later. That $5.4 Billion dollars need to be placed back in the Permanent Education Fund. no ifs, ands or buts. Its too obvious that this amount was removed from education, so that public school districts in poor neighborhoods would go bankrupt, to open the door for SUPER-HEROES charter schools could then move in to save the day, taking advantage of taxpayer-paid public school buildings, to: Profit handsomely from public structures, without having to spend money to build their own schools. To indoctrinate vs educate our children with their politically/religiously structured text material. Our public school system, for centuries, has educated some of the best medical doctors, scientists, educators, astronauts and yes, even a few honest politicians. As we used to say in the military, Why fix it, if it aint broke?

I urge you to allow this bill to be voted on, instead of catering to those who put large contributions in your political fund. We will be watching your actions closely. Placido Salazar, USAF Retired Vietnam Veteran Dr. Hector P. Garcia American GI Forum Org. Inc.
From: Save Texas Schools [info=savetxschools.org@nationbuilder.com] On Behalf Of Save Texas Schools Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 10:52 PM To: Placido Salazar Subject: Urgent Action-Save Texas Schools Legislative Update Dear Save Texas Schools Supporter, Were in last few weeks of the legislative session, a time when things move quickly and unpredictably. Bills we thought were dead may be resurrected as amendments to other bills. Legislation that wasnt on the radar may pop onto the House or Senate floor with little warning. Through the work of public school advocates like you, there has been significant progress this session to restore funding and pare back standardized tests, but gains in either area could be erased at any time over the coming weeks. Please stay alert and be ready to respond quickly to any calls to action and please keep up the message to restore the full $5.4 billion in funding that was cut! The message is getting through. Take 10 For Kids and Schools! Today, were asking you to take ten minutes for six urgent action items: 1. Contact Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst to let House Bill 5 to come to the Senate floor for an immediate vote. HB 5 significantly reduces the number of required End of Course exams (EOCs) from 15 to 5 and provides more flexibility for graduation requirements, allowing students to pursue academic interests in greater depth. We cant let Dewhurst sit on this one! Please call or email t he Lieutenant Governor at 512-463-0001 or http://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/contact.php 2. Contact your State Senator to vote FOR House Bill 5 when it comes to the floor, and AGAINST any amendments that would allow more than five end-of-course exams (EOCs). Find your State Senator at http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx 3. Email the members of the Senate Education Committee to vote YES on House Bill 2836 and allow it to move on for a final vote of the full Senate. This important bill reduces the number of standardized tests for students in grades 3-8. It also cuts back on the amount of required testing time and limits the number of benchmark tests a district can administer to these younger students. The bill passed unanimously in the House now weve got to get it out of committee and onto the Senate floor! Email all committee members by pasting the below block of addresses into your to line. dan.patrick@senate.state.tx.us, eddie.lucio@senate.state.tx.us, donna.campbell@senate.state.tx.us, robert.duncan@senate.state.tx.us, ken.paxton@senate.state.tx.us, kel.seliger@senate.state.tx.us, larry.taylor@senate.state.tx.us, leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us, royce.west@senate.state.tx.us

4. Contact your House Rep to vote NO on Senate Bill 1718. This bill would allow public schools to be taken away from local school districts and given to private charter operators after three consecutive years of low performance (remember that Texas schools may be labeled low performing if as few as one or two students fail in a single testing area). It would completely remove schools from local control and is similar to a Louisiana law that has resulted in the lowest performing district in that state, with massive charter failures affecting thousands of students. Find your House rep at http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx 5. Contact the House Public Education Committee to vote NO on House Bill 300. This bill would allow a gubernatorial appointee to remove schools from local school boards and turn them over to alternative governance. Under this bill, the schools would not have to hire certified teachers, could apply selective admissions requirements, and would be free to ignore the state curriculum, class size caps, attendance requirements, and the states own accountability system. Yet all this would be paid for with state funding, further draining badly needed resources from our public schools. Contact the House committee members to oppose HB 300 at these email addresses:

Jimmie.Aycock@House.state.tx.us Alma.Allen@House.state.tx.us John.Davis@House.state.tx.us Joe.Deshotel@House.state.tx.us Harold.Dutton@House.state.tx.us Marsha.Farney@House.state.tx.us Dan.Huberty@House.state.tx.us Ken.King@House.state.tx.us Bennett.Ratliff@House.state.tx.us Justin.Rodriguez@House.state.tx.us Mike.Villarreal@House.state.tx.us

6. Contact House Public Education Committee to vote NO on SB 1263 and HB 2976 . Both of these so-called parent trigger bills would allow schools to be removed from locally elected school boards and turned over to private charter operators, with no accountability once that occurs. They would likely hit low-income campuses the hardest. Please contact committee members at:

Jimmie.Aycock@House.state.tx.us Alma.Allen@House.state.tx.us John.Davis@House.state.tx.us Joe.Deshotel@House.state.tx.us

Harold.Dutton@House.state.tx.us Marsha.Farney@House.state.tx.us Dan.Huberty@House.state.tx.us Ken.King@House.state.tx.us Bennett.Ratliff@House.state.tx.us Justin.Rodriguez@House.state.tx.us Mike.Villarreal@House.state.tx.us

Donate Today to Save Texas Schools! Save Texas Schools needs your support to continue the fight for an excellent education for all Texas students. Please help with by making a donation today at http://savetxschools.org/get-involved/make-a-donation/ Thanks for everything you do for Texas schools and kids! Allen Weeks Chair, Save Texas Schools

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