Rallying for schools in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas--Demonstrators will converge on the state Capitol March 12 to send a message to state lawmakers: Make Texas education a priority.

Proposed cuts in the state budget would deprive public schools of nearly $5 billion, leaving the state system close to $10 billion short of the funding level it is required to be at under state law. The politicians are also proposing draconian cuts to programs and grants that pay for such services as pre-kindergarten classes and arts education. Texas officials claim they face a budget shortfall of $27 billion.

To add insult to injury, Gov. Rick Perry was one of a handful of state governors who rejected federal stimulus funds. Last year, he turned down $555 million in federal aid.

As austerity comes to Texas, the politicians in Austin are up to the same tricks as those in Washington. Instead of taxing the rich or making the banks pay for the crisis, they are letting the burden fall on those least able to pay and those least responsible: Our children! Rather than call for the federal government to take money away from the more than $1 trillion allocated each year to military and "national security spending," Perry and friends are shamelessly taking from our kids.

The cuts would come at a time when Texas schools have been shown to lag far behind those of other states. In February, the state House's Legislative Study Group released a report titled "Texas On The Brink" that ranked Texas schools as among the worst in the country.

Working people in Texas and around the country have for too long been victims of a one-sided class war. As capitalism tries to restore profitability, working people have been forced to give up what social services are left untouched after four decades of attacks on our living standards.

However, with news of the fightback in Wisconsin--and of revolutions in Egypt and other countries--making headlines, working people are feeling bolder. The Save Our Schools Rally in Austin will give working people a chance to make their voice heard.

Members of unions, teachers, students, faith-based organizations and activist groups are participating in organizing the rally and march against these austerity measures. Among socialists, there will be a mobilization from across the state raising demands like "Tax the rich" and "End the wars."

As lawmakers across the country attempt to make working people shoulder the burden of this crisis, working people are beginning to push back. The struggles taking place from Cairo to Wisconsin point the way forward for all working people.