[orison]

The spark of all of this was the TX state legislature voting to cut state property taxes in 2006. With revenues drastically reduced, education budgets were subsequently slashed by $4 billion. The Keller school district alone had their budget cut $16 million for the next school year and will see another $16 million cut the following year.

For this round, they laid off 200 teachers and raised class sizes to 30+ as well as eliminating bus service. They then ran a referendum to raise funds with a 13-cent property tax increase to fund the schools in the district. Tea Party groups rallied against the tax increase and it went down to defeat. With students and teachers caught in the crossfire, the only solution left is to charge them directly for the service.

CBS DFW: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/07/18/n...de-school-bus/

The Keller ISD school board approved a plan Monday night to make parents pay for students who wish to ride the bus.

Under the plan, parents or guardians will pay $185 a semester for one child to ride the bus and $135 for a second child. Students who get free and reduced lunches will have to pay $100.

“There will be buses,” superintendent James Veitenheimer told parents after initial worries that there wouldn’t be bus service during the school year. “They just won’t be free.”

Students will now carry identification cards that will track if they have paid the fees. There is no monthly payment plan; the fees must be paid up front.

...

Each year Keller spends between $260 and $360 per student on school bus transportation. District officials say when Keller voters rejected a 13-cent increase in the property tax rate they were left to find other ways of generating money.

During the 2010-2011 school year the district provided about 120 school bus routes. During the next school year, there will be just 72 stops. Routes will be released Thursday. If things keep going the way they're headed, we'll soon get to a point where street lights will be coin-operated, all roads will be toll roads, firefighters will need to swipe your credit card for payment before they get off the truck to put out your fire and only families making over $100k a year will be able to afford to keep their kids in school past the 8th grade.

[lkastonidwedsrer]

Rick Perry for President

[slima]

This is the sort of thing that some members of the Tea Party caucus in the House would consider "progress."

[riverakathy]

Of course it's "progress" in their minds. They want nothing more than to eliminate public education, and this district is well on its way out of existence.