Texas Education Cuts Lead To Oversized Classrooms, Teachers Say

The AP (3/11, Weissert) reports, "All over Texas, school districts have laid off teachers, support staff and administrators to cope with steep reductions in state education funding." Educators say that "fewer aides and larger class sizes mean teachers spend more time with potty training and runny noses than teaching the ABCs and basic math." Over the next two years, "the Republican-dominated state Legislature cut $4 billion in education funding... while eliminating an additional $1.4 billion from grant programs, even though statewide enrollment is increasing by about 80,000 students annually." However, the article notes that "this year's cuts were softened by a one-time infusion of $830 million in federal funding which won't be available next year."