Assclown Alert: Bragging about Texas’ dismal funding of public education with Gov. Greg Abbott

Amid Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest bilious bouts of border bluster, it might have been easy to overlook his recent spate of tweets congratulating himself for turning Texas’ education system into the pride of the nation.

“Texas continues to be a leader in education success because we prioritize the needs of our students,” the Republican governor boasted Dec. 22 on X. In a subsequent tweet, he went on to brag that he’d “provided more funding for education and pay raises than any governor in state history.”

Needless to say, it didn’t go well.

Plenty of teachers and parents in Social Media Land are painfully aware of the statistics that show Texas is far from a “leader in education success.” They were happy to let Governor Greg know he’s as full of shit as a NIOSA port-a-potty.

For a moment let’s put aside the facts that the Lone Star State ranks 37th in the nation in per-student spending and 42nd in per-student funding. And that Abbott, in his indefatigable quest to ram school vouchers down the state’s collective throat, has tirelessly railed about public schools being a mess and their employees turning Texas youths into woke zombies.

No, instead, let’s just focus on Abbott’s claim that he’s directed historic amounts of cash to teachers. While it’s true he signed off on big-ticket education bills passed by the Lege, the AFT Texas union ran the numbers for a comprehensive funding study this May and found the following:

• Adjusted for inflation, the average Texas teacher’s salary has dropped by more than 9% since the 2009-2010 school year.
• Texas teachers now make roughly $9,000 less on average than their peers nationwide.

Separately, an AFT Texas membership survey showed that 45% of respondents named salaries as their top workplace concern, and 69% considered leaving their posts in the past year. It’s not hard to fathom why.

Here’s some advice, Governor Assclown: do the math before you let your tweet-happy thumbs do the talking.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

Assclown Alert: Playing dumb about abortion bans with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz

Cruz is trying to stay mum about abortion amid a tight race, but a court filing shows just how extreme his views are.

Assclown Alert: Conflating rape and sexual indiscretion with U.S. Rep. Chip Roy

Roy, an Austin-San Antonio congressman, made the remark while defending Trump nominee Pete Hegseth.

Assclown Alert: Losing again and again with now-former Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa

Wins for Texas Democrats have been few and far between under Hinojosa’s leadership.

Abbott vows pay raises for teachers and more property tax relief

The governor’s speech sets a broad agenda for the Legislature, including a nuclear renaissance and a Texas Cyber Command.

Texas GOP forges ahead on school vouchers as local districts suffer from lack of state dollars

Texas public schools’ per-student funding level amounts to a 12.9% decline when adjusted for the past decade’s inflation.

Vandals tag South Texas Elon Musk mural with ‘Deny, Defend, Depose’

The phrase is linked to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO because it was inscribed on shell casings left at the scene.

The Texas Three-Step: Defund, demonize and privatize public schools

Vouchers become subsidies for families who had already decided to pay for private school, at the expense of public schools that must serve all students.

This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.