Top Stories
- Gov. Perry implementing vision of Austin as next Silicon Valley – Laylin Copelin and Lori Hawkins, Austin American-Statesman
- Gen. Rick Sanchez to enter Texas Senate race – Maria Recio, McClatchy
See our round-up below for more. - SBOE Members: Why Not Use the Permanent School Fund? – Morgan Smith, Texas Tribune
Because dipping into a self-perpetuating fund is long-term fiscal insanity. - Hidalgo County Elections commission proposes policy changes to curb fraud – Gail Burkhardt, The Monitor
Higher Education Reform
- College reform effort gaining ground in Texas – Melissa Ludwig, Houston Chronicle
This may be the first piece by the Texas media which attempted to present the higher ed reform viewpoint — but only after misframing it as anti-professor. It’s about making universities more affordable and ensuring that the state’s investment in education produces citizens who can contribute to the economic growth which benefits all Texans. Why is it so wrong to make sure that the state government receives a good return on its investment in education? - Texas needs higher education reform – Dick Armey, Houston Chronicle
As a former economics professor at Austin College and the University of North Texas, I have seen firsthand the great potential of Texas students in higher education. Yet my 20 years in academia taught me that universities often serve the comfort and security of the faculty rather than fostering the potential of these students. I applaud Gov. Rick Perry for courageously tackling much needed higher education reform.
Armey lays out a more invasive reform than some of us favor; however, 80% of Texans think our universities can be run more efficiently. (Or maybe 80% have had to deal with university bureaucracy?) Perhaps we should at least consider whether they are right.
- What is the Fundamental Purpose of Our Public Universities? – Ed Hubbard, Big Jolly Politics
[T]he clueless and condescending reactions from some who have attacked the ideas promoted by Governor Perry, Mr. Sandefer, and Mr. O’Donnell underscore a fundamental question that many taxpayers, parents and students now have about our entire educational system: are schools operating for the benefit of the students, or for the benefit of the teachers and administrators? I think most of us outside of the educational system had thought state-supported schools at all levels operated to benefit students. However, to read some of the op-ed pieces and interviews from current and former faculty and administrators, you would think that students are merely incidental nuisances with whom they have to interact periodically while running their facilities and conducting their research.
Higher education bureaucrats have resisted taxpayer and citizen scrutiny for years — and fairly effectively, as the manufactured “O’Donnell affair” illustrates.
- Perry pushed policy like board of regents – Patricia Kilday Hart, San Antonio Express-News; UT records show deeper involvement of Perry in pressing for reforms – Ralph Haurwitz, Austin American-Statesman
Interesting how different media outlets all seemed to wind up with these docs at the same time. We can’t help but wonder who might have helped put the idea in their collective heads. - Rick O’Donnell’s Panel Remarks on Higher Education Reform – Times of Texas
- Peter Thiel: Higher Ed Bubble? Yes. – Times of Texas
- Sneak attack on university research – AAS editorial
When University of Texas regents approved the hiring of what amounted to a shadow chancellor last month….
This is such an overblown assertion that it speaks for itself.
Recommended
- Big spending may not spell school success – Ericka Mellon, Houston Chronicle
- Will Doggett be the target of new congressional map? – Jason Embry, Austin American-Statesman
- Sugar Land congressman Pete Olson not giving up on shuttle – Stewart Powell, Houston Chronicle
- Rick Sanchez for Senate? – Evan, Texas Iconoclast
- Democrats may have found a Senate candidate – Paul Burka, Burka Blog
- Will Liberals Learn to Love Ricardo Sanchez? – Jim Geraghty, NRO
- Texas Voters Getting Railroaded – Michael Quinn Sullivan, Empower Texans
- Alberto Gonzales Talks Immigration – Sibyl West, Ramparts360
- Time for the biennial attack on the Travis County DA – Off the Kuff
If you were designing Texas’ government from scratch, having that jurisdiction with the Attorney General would be sensible.
Yes, it would be sensible, because it is.
- Pew recommendation on recidivism metric wrong for Texas – Grits for Breakfast
We may not always agree with Grits, but at least he get beyond mere partisanship and drills substantively into policy. - “Spirit of Clay” lives on at Hearst Austin news bureau – Kevin Whited, Texas Iconoclast