If you want to know the true meaning of sacrifice, ask a Texas teacher. Even now as schools across the state barrel into a new academic year, teachers are pouring long hours into their craft, and feverishly preparing to devote their time, energy and talents to a new crop of young minds. You probably remember a teacher that really made a difference in your life… one that spent extra time with you after class to make sure you got a concept, or one that helped you to grow up by showing clear distinctions between right and wrong. It’s nearly impossible to compensate a good educator for the precious gifts of knowledge, comprehension, development and understanding that they impart.
Unfortunately in 2011, none of those gifts mattered to Texas Republicans. Set on actualizing their small-government and increasingly Tea Party-laden fetish, GOP legislators put forth one of the most draconian budgets ever seen in modern times. The only person standing in their way was a lone Democrat. Here’s the story from the Texas Tribune at the time..
A Democrat’s last stand may have just pushed the legislative session, set to end today, into overtime — which could start as soon as tomorrow.
In a make-or-break day for the state budget, with the finish line in sight, things broke down Sunday night when Sen.Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibustered for a little more than an hour, likely killing a school finance and revenue bill, the last remaining piece of the budget puzzle.
Davis, starting at 10:45 p.m. and looking to push debate on the bill past a midnight deadline, ran out the clock by reading aloud letters from constituents and the list of funding cuts to Texas’ 1,200 school districts.
In 2011, Wendy Davis fought with everything she had to save Texas schools. But after Governor Perry called a Special Session, the TEApublicans got their wish… decimating the state’s education budget with a $5.4 billion dollar cut. As a result of those actions, Texas schools lost over 11,000 teachers in 2011 and 2012. So damaging were these cuts that Texas school districts decided to sue the state over them, and Attorney General Greg Abbott has fought our schools right to their tax money every step of the way since.
After all of that, it’s almost incomprehensible to think that Abbott not only has the audacity to run for Governor, but that he’s running for Governor on his education ideas? As the Burnt Orange Report points out, it’s almost comical, especially when the GOP candidate can’t seem to remember which schools are suing him, and which are not.
But these cuts are nothing to laugh about. Texas simply could not afford to lose so many educational resources in a rapidly-growing state. All of our children have suffered at the hands of an irresponsible Republican-led legislature. Rick Perry, Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP hurt all types of districts– wealthy and poor, Red County and Blue County, north and south– these cuts affected every community in the Lone Star State.
As Texans prepare to choose the state’s next Governor, let’s hope that they remember which candidate stands for our schools, and which one is trying to burn them down.
Texas Leftist has made a map of school districts that are currently involved in one of 4 active lawsuits against Attorney General Abbott and the state of Texas. Keep in mind that this map only shows a little over half of the communities affected, but is enough to give a visual example of just how many schools across the state are standing against the GOP’s heinous 2011 budget. Thanks to Bay Area Houston for compiling the written list, which has been alphabetized by letter for greater ease of data collection and reading.
Is your school district suing Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP? Do you really want to vote for a Governor that would take money from our schools??
Abernathy ISD Abilene ISD Academy ISD Agua Dulce ISD Alamo Heights ISD Albany ISD Aldine ISD Aledo ISD Alice ISD Alief ISD Allen ISD Alpine ISD Amarillo ISD Anahuac ISD Andrews ISD Angleton ISD Anson ISD Anthony ISD Anton ISD Apple Springs ISD Aquilla ISD Aransas County ISD Aransas Pass ISD Archer City ISD Arlington ISD Athens ISD Atlanta ISD Aubrey ISD Austin ISD Avalon ISD Axtell ISD Azle ISD
Balmorhea ISD Banquete ISD Barbers Hill ISD Bartlett ISD Beaumont ISD Beckville ISD Beeville ISD Bellevue ISD Bells ISD Belton ISD Benjamin ISD Big Sandy ISD (Upshur) Blackwell Cons ISD Bland ISD Blanket ISD Blue Ridge ISD Bluff Dale ISD Blum ISD Boles ISD Bonham ISD Borden County ISD Bosqueville ISD Brackett ISD Brazosport ISD Bridge City ISD Brock ISD Brookesmith ISD Brownfield ISD Brownwood ISD Bruceville-Eddy ISD Bryan ISD Buena Vista IS DBullard ISD Buna ISDBurkburnett ISD Burkeville ISD Burleson ISD Burnet Cons ISD Bushland ISD Bynum ISD
Caddo Mills ISD Calallen ISD Calhoun County ISD Callisburg ISD Campbell ISD Canton ISD Canutillo ISD Canyon ISD Carrizo Springs Cons ISD Carroll ISD Carthage ISD Castleberry ISD Celina ISD Center ISD Centerville ISD (Trinity) Central ISD Channelview ISD Chapel Hill ISD (Smith) Cherokee ISD Childress ISD Chillicothe ISD Chilton ISD Chisum ISD Christoval ISD Clarendon ISD Clear Creek ISD Cleburne ISD Cleveland ISD Clint ISD Coldspring-Oakhurst Cons ISD Coleman ISD College Station ISD Colorado ISD Columbia-Brazoria ISD Commerce ISD Community ISD Connally ISD Coolidge ISD Cooper ISD Coppell ISD Corpus Christi ISD Corrigan-Camden ISD Corsicana ISD Cotton Center ISD Cotulla ISD Coupland ISD Covington ISD Crandall ISD Crane ISD Crosby ISD Crosbyton Cons ISD Crowell ISD Crystal City ISD Cuero ISD Culberson County-Allamore ISD Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Dallas ISD Damon ISD Danbury ISD Decatur ISD Deer Park ISD Dekalb ISD Denison ISD Denton ISD Denver City ISD Detroit ISD Devers ISD Devine ISD D’Hanis ISD Diboll ISD Dickinson ISD Dilley ISD Dodd City ISD Donna ISD Dublin ISD Dumas ISD Duncanville ISD
Eagle Mt-Saginaw ISD Eanes ISD Early ISD East Central ISD Ector County ISD Ector ISD Edgewood ISD (Bexar)Edgewood ISD (Van Zandt)Edinburg Cons ISD Edna ISD El Paso ISD Elgin ISD Ennis ISD Era ISDEtoile ISD Eula ISD Eustace ISD Evant ISD Everman ISD Excelsior ISD
Fabens ISD Falls City ISD Fannindel ISD Farmersville ISD Ferris ISD Flatonia ISD Floresville ISD Floydada ISD Forsan ISD Fort Bend ISD Fort Elliott Cons ISD Fort Worth ISD Frisco ISD Frost ISD Fruitvale ISD Ft Davis ISD Ft Hancock ISD Ft Stockton ISD
Gainesville ISD Galena Park ISD Galveston ISD Ganado ISD Gary ISD Gladewater ISD Glasscock ISD Glen Rose ISD Godley ISD Gonzales ISD Goodrich ISD Goose Creek Consolidated ISD Gorman ISD Grady ISD Graford ISD Granbury ISD Grandfalls-Royalty ISD Grandview ISD Grandview-Hopkins ISD Granger ISD Grape Creek ISD Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Greenville ISD Gregory-Portland ISD Groesbeck ISD Groom ISD Groveton ISD Gruver ISD Gunter ISD Guthrie CSD
Hale Center ISD Hamilton ISD Hamlin ISD Hardin ISD Hardin-Jefferson ISD Harlandale ISD Harleton ISD Harlingen Cons ISD Hart ISD Haskell Cons ISD Hawley ISD Hays Cons ISD Hearne ISD Hedley ISD Hemphill ISD Hempstead ISD Henrietta ISD Hereford ISD Hico ISD Hidalgo ISD High Island ISD Highland ISD Highland Park ISD (Dallas) Hillsboro ISD Hitchcock ISD Honey Grove ISD Houston ISD Howe ISD Hubbard ISD (Hill) Huckabay ISD Hudson ISD Huffman ISD Humble ISD Hunt ISD Huntington ISD Hutto ISD
Idalou ISD Ingram ISD Iola ISD Iraan-Sheffield ISD Italy ISD
Jacksboro ISD Jacksonville ISD Jasper ISD Jayton-Girard ISD Joaquin ISD Joshua ISD Jourdanton ISD Judson ISD
Karnes City ISD Katy ISD Kaufman ISD Keller ISD Kemp ISD Kenedy ISD Kennedale ISD Kerens ISD Kilgore ISD Kingsville ISD Kirbyville Cons ISD Klein ISD Knippa ISD Knox City-O’Brien ISD Kopperl ISD Krum ISD
La Feria ISD La Marque ISD La Porte ISD La Pryor ISD La Vega ISD La Vernia ISD La Villa ISD Lake Dallas ISD Lake Travis ISD Lake Worth ISD Lamar Cons ISD Lampasas ISD Lasara ISD Latexo ISD Leggett ISD Leonard ISD Levelland ISD Leveretts Chapel ISD Lewisville ISD Liberty ISD Lindale ISD Little Cypress-Mauriceville Cons ISD Little Elm ISD Littlefield ISD Livingston ISD Lockney ISD Lometa ISD Longview ISD Loop ISD Lorena ISD Los Fresnos Cons ISD Louise ISD Lovejoy ISD Lubbock ISD Lueders-Avoca ISD Lufkin ISD Lyford Cons ISD Lytle ISD
Mabank ISD Madisonville Cons ISD Malakoff ISD Mansfield ISD Marfa ISD Martins Mill ISD Mathis ISD Maud ISD McAllen ISD McCamey ISD McDade ISD McKinney ISD McLeod ISD Meadow ISD Mercedes ISD Mesquite ISD Miami ISD Midland ISD Milano ISD Miles ISD Milford ISD Miller Grove ISD Millsap ISD Mineola ISD Mineral Wells ISD Monahans-Wickett Pyote ISD Morton ISD Motley County ISD Mount Pleasant ISD Muenster ISD Muleshoe ISD Mumford ISD Munday Cons ISD
Nacogdoches ISD Navarro ISD Navasota ISD Needville ISD New Boston ISD New Caney ISD New Diana ISD New Home ISD Newcastle ISD Newton ISD Nixon-Smiley Cons ISD North East ISD North Forest ISD North Lamar ISD Northside ISD (Bexar) Northside ISD (Wilbarger) Northwest ISD Novice ISD Nueces Canyon Cons ISD Nursery ISD
Odem-Edroy ISD Oglesby ISD Olfen ISD Olney ISD Olton ISD Onalaska ISD Ore City ISD Paducah ISD
Palacios ISD Palestine ISD Palmer ISD Palo Pinto ISD Pampa ISD Panther Creek Cons ISD Paradise ISD Paris ISD Pasadena ISD Patton Springs ISD Pearland ISD Peaster ISD Penelope ISD Perrin-Whitt Cons ISD Petersburg ISD Petrolia ISD Pettus ISD Pflugerville ISD Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Pilot Point ISD Plains ISD Plano ISD Pleasant Grove ISD Point Isabel ISD Ponder ISD Poolville ISD Port Aransas ISD Post ISD Poteet ISD Poth ISD Prairie Valley ISD Prairiland ISD Presidio ISD Priddy ISD Princeton ISD Pringle-Morse Cons ISD Prosper ISD
Quanah ISD Queen City ISD Quinlan ISD
Rains ISD Ralls ISD Ramirez CSD Rankin ISD Reagan County ISD Refugio ISD Ricardo ISD Rice ISD Richardson ISD Rio Hondo ISD Rising Star ISD River Road ISD Robert Lee ISD Robinson ISD Robstown ISD Rockdale ISD Rocksprings ISD Rockwall ISD Rogers ISD Roosevelt ISD Ropes ISD Rosebud-Lott ISD Rotan ISD Round Rock ISD Roxton ISD Royal ISD Royse City ISD Rule ISD Rusk ISD
S and S Cons IS D Sabine ISD Sam Rayburn ISD San Angelo ISD San Antonio ISD San Augustine ISD San Benito Cons ISD San Elizario ISD San Perlita ISD San Saba ISD San Vicente ISD Sanford-Fritch ISD Santa Anna ISD Santa Fe ISD Santa Rosa ISD Santo ISD Savoy ISD Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD Schulenburg ISD Scurry-Rosser ISD Seguin ISD Seminole ISD Seymour IS D Shallowater ISD Shamrock ISD Sharyland ISD Sheldon ISD Sidney ISD Silsbee ISD Simms ISD Sinton ISD Skidmore-Tynan ISD Slaton ISD Smithville ISD Smyer ISD Snook ISD Socorro ISD Somerville ISD Sonora ISD South San Antonio ISD Southland ISD Southside ISD Southwest ISD Splendora ISD Spring Branch ISD Spring Hill ISD Spring ISD Springlake-Earth ISD Springtown ISD Spur ISD Spurger ISD Stafford MSD Stamford ISD Stanton ISD Star ISD Stephenville ISD Sterling City ISD Stockdale ISD Sudan ISD Sundown ISD Sunnyvale ISD Sunray ISD Sweeny ISD Sweetwater ISD
Taft ISD Tahoka ISD Tatum ISD Taylor ISD Temple ISD Terlingua CSD Terrell County ISD Texas City ISD Texline ISD Thorndale ISD Thrall ISD Three Rivers ISD Timpson ISD Tioga ISD Tolar ISD Tornillo ISD Trent ISD Trenton ISD Trinity ISD Troy ISD Tulia ISD Tyler ISD
Union Grove ISD United ISD
Valentine ISD TexasValley View ISD (Cooke) Van ISD Venus ISD Veribest ISD Vernon ISD Vidor ISD
Waco ISD Warren ISD Waskom ISD Water Valley ISD Weatherford ISD Wells ISD West Hardin County Cons ISD West Orange-Cove Cons ISD West Oso ISD West Sabine ISD Westphalia ISD Westwood ISD Wharton ISD White Oak ISD Whiteface Cons ISD Whitesboro ISD Whitewright ISD Whitharral ISD Whitney ISD Wichita Falls ISD Wimberley ISD Windthorst ISD Wink-Loving ISD Winnsboro ISD Winona ISD Woden ISD Woodsboro ISD Woodson ISD Woodville ISD Wortham ISD
Ysleta ISD
Zavalla ISD Zephyr ISD
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Are there any school districts not suing Greg Davis? Teachers, school employees, and parents really need to remember this when election day rolls around. If they don’t like either candidate, they should ask themselves if they have voted in the primaries that led up to our choices. And keep in mind all the rights we citizens have lost during Perry’s stampede through our state. No matter what, we ALL need to vote. And if the majority chooses Abbott, please keep in mind his record of supporting big business without regard or caring who is being lost in his power. It will be our children.
I don’t see the Harris ISD in this list! they must be doing good. Check it out!!!
There is no Harris ISD.
If by “Harris ISD” you mean Houston Independent School District, it is listed. Most of the School Districts in Harris County are part of the lawsuits.
It’s interesting to see the greatest concentration of plaintiffs to be in DFW, the most-densely-populated conservative-voting part of the state.
Freakin’ Libs
It’s not Liberal or Conservative to support one’s school kids. It’s just common sense.
Freakin’ Libs? Are they the one’s who are stealing district tax dollars from the schools? Gee, I have this all wrong, I guess.
Don’t be silly this is not Republican Democrat this is school we’re talking about…
I believe the answer is “none.” None of these school districts are suing Greg Abbott, and none of these school districts are suing the Texas GOP. They are suing the State of Texas, by and through its appropriate representatives, who, by law, are represented by the Texas Atty. Gen., Greg Abbott. He’s doing his job.
No they are suing him just as much as they are suing Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton, Glenn Hegar, Rick Perry and every other legislator that voted for these disastrous cuts. As covered in this blog, General Abbott has the ability to drop these lawsuits just he does the lawsuits defending the marriage ban.
If you’ve ever been to a municipal courtroom, the same thing happens there. Someone is charged with a traffic ticket, and it is the prosecutor’s job at that point how to proceed with the case. Could they choose to prosecute that person to the full extent of the law?? Sure they could, but often times they do not because they know that doing such things is not of the best benefit to the taxpayers whom they represent as “the state” “the county”, etc.
By pursuing these lawsuits as long as he has, I would argue that Greg Abbott is wasting the money of Texas taxpayers in two ways– by under-funding our schools, and by forcing the districts to spend frivolous time and money in legal fees. How many more teachers could be working today if Abbott had been a more responsible steward of our state resources??
Abbott is not a legislator. Perry is not a legislator. And in this case, the State is not a prosecutor, it’s the defendant.