Budget
writers tell education chief to cut more from funding
AUSTIN (AP)
— Asking the Texas Education Agency to find even more budget
cuts isn't the same as slashing education, Gov. Rick Perry said Friday.
"I think people get confused with cutting education funding
and paring down the size of an agency that has some bureaucratic corpulence
to it, let's say — fat," Perry said.
Perry, who says education is his top priority, last week said
he wanted education funding to increase despite a $10 billion budget shortfall.
He's vowed that state lawmakers will balance the next budget without new taxes.
On Thursday, budget writers weren't satisfied with the education
agency's proposed 2004-05 budget that slashed some areas as much as 14 percent.
Ideas included firing private managers who help invest the
$17 billion Permanent School Fund, decreasing money to education service centers
and chopping textbook funding by half.
TEA found $13.5 million, or 14 percent, to cut in administration.
Also, the agency planned to use more federal money in the
next biennium to pay for things the state now funds, said director of operations
Bill Monroe.
Education Commissioner Felipe Alanis
said the goal was to help with budget problems but not hurt the quality of
education as
"I tried to keep our core mission foremost in my mind,"
Alanis said. "At the end of the day, our thought
is that education is about students and teachers in the classroom."
But some members of the House Appropriations Committee believed
the agency didn't recommend enough layoffs and other costs that do not directly
affect the classroom.
Education Subcommittee Chairman Jim Pitts ordered the agency
to find more cuts by Monday to help lawmakers come up with money to continue
the teachers' health insurance and other programs.
He's among the lawmakers who have been asked to draft the
next state budget that's about 12.5 percent smaller than the current $114
billion spending plan.
"We've got to find more money in this agency," said
Pitts, R-Waxahachie. "I really don't think you've done all you can to
scrub this agency."
He said looming cuts in health care and social services underscore
the importance of finding areas to trim within TEA.
"We've got people out here in the hallway in wheelchairs
who are dying that we may have to take off the rolls,"
Pitts said. "You've got a $30 billion agency. Surely you can help us
with the issues of
Alanis said chopping more administrative costs may affect programs,
including initiatives aimed at preparing students for a new standardized test.
reducing an already lean staff and
Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, suggested examining
an agency television studio. Rep. Fred Brown,
R-Bryan, wanted the agency to look at eliminating more jobs.
But Alanis agreed to try to find
more savings.
"We know you have tough choices and we consider ourselves
partners in that endeavor," he said.
Only the $26 billion Foundation School Fund was exempted from
cuts. The fund pays for teacher salaries, administration costs and helps school
districts whittle down the debt they've incurred to build new facilities.
Everything else at the agency is
on the table when it comes to cuts, including some early-childhood, after-school
and dropout prevention programs.
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