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My blog has moved: http://beta.amarillo.com/opinion/community/blogs/25.

You can also "Like" my new page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Brenda-Bernet-the-journalist/131161883595114.

Thanks for reading, and keep me in the loop.

What am I missing on the lottery?

I'm not old enough to remember the marketing campaign behind the Texas Lottery, but I can't count the number of times I've heard or read comments, such as this one:

"Is anybody listening, I said "Texas Lottery"! Texas Lottery was proposed back when Ann Richards was running for office it was said that the TEXAS LOTTERY was going to fund our SCHOOLS! Where is the money going? ? ? ? ? ?"

The lottery doesn't raise enough money to pay for public education. Profits provide about $1 billion of the $48 billion the state spends on education.
According to a May report on school finance from the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association:

"Funding for the system totaled $48 billion in the 2009-10 school year, which includes $15.8 billion in state funds (33%), $21.8 billion in local property taxes (45%), and $10.4 billion in federal funds (22%). The amount of federal funding is unusually high because of a one-time infusion of $5.9 billion in federal stimulus funds sent to Texas through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)."

And on the lottery:

"The Foundation School Fund is the mechanism through which most of the state revenue used to fund public education flows from the state to local districts. Expenditures from this fund totaled $11.3 billion in the 2009-10 school year. One-quarter of all “occupation taxes” such as the oil production tax, natural gas production tax, and the gas, water, and electric utility tax are constitutionally dedicated to public education and are deposited into the FSF (approximately $1 billion per year). Net profits from the state’s lottery (approximately $1 billion per year) are statutorily dedicated to public education and are also deposited into this fund. In addition, approximately $1.3 billion of local property taxes that are recaptured”1 from property wealthy school districts each year are deposited into this fund — labeled “Appropriated Receipts” — and treated as state revenue. Thesededicated revenues are not sufficient to meet the full cost of public education as determined by state formulas; therefore the Comptroller transfers the remaining required revenue to this fund from the General Revenue Fund."

To see the full report, visit http://bit.ly/9QiTsE.

Conference focuses on at-risk students

Educators from across the region are attending the 17th annual at-risk conference.
This year's theme is "Hats off to Educators." The conference program began at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. today at the Amarillo Civic Center.

This morning's keynote speaker is Keith Davis, a former NFL linebacker who overcame family obstacles and reading difficulties to obtain a degree in business finance and be named an academic scholar.

A session with Eric Cupp begins at 11 a.m. in the Civic Center Auditorium. Cupp has a doctorate in education and has experience working with dysfunctional families, as well as honor students and athletes.

Stephen Peters will close the conference with a program, beginning at 1:30 p.m. today. Peters is the founder of the Gentlemen's & Ladies' Club programs, which aim to provide options for at-risk and honor students throughout the country. Peters is a 28-year educator.

Highland Park tidbits

While reporting Monday on the new Mayfield Activity Center, I learned about a few details that you might otherwise overlook.

The next time you go to Highland Park Independent School District, 15300 E. Amarillo Blvd., take a look at the outside windows over the old elementary gym. It's on the northeast side of the campus. Inside the windows are large photographs of students from the district. You can't see the pictures inside the building.

And for the past several years, Highland Park has continued to add classroom additions to the elementary school, on the east side of the campus. The new Mayfield Activity Center caps the stretch of classrooms, making for one lengthy hallway.

New center of it all in HP: Activity hall expected to benefit community

In case you missed it ...

With everyone's busy schedules, it's easy to miss a story of interest. Education stories from the week of Aug. 8 touched on the complexity of school finance, tax rates, increased demand for online classes and the importance of ninth grade.

• No quick fix for schools' finances
• AC regents host hearing on proposed tax hike
• Teachers of the Year honored
• Freshman orientation: Transition crucial to success
• Canyon ISD likely to keep current property tax rate
• Intertwining via Web

Let me know what school-related stories you would like to see.

Demand grows for online learning

Demand continues to grow for online classes, according to a Speak Up 2009 report from Project Tomorrow, a national education organization based in Irvine, Calif.

More than one-third of high school and middle school students surveyed were interested in taking a class online.

And the percent of high school students taking an online class doubled from a 2008 report, according to Project Tomorrow. Thirteen percent of students took an online class led by a teacher, 12 percent took a self-study course and 8 percent took a course that combined face-to-face instruction with an online component.

See more information about the report here. And resources for online education continue to expand for students in the Texas Panhandle. See the story here.

National concern about educators' jobs

The Obama administration is asking for emergency funding to help states and school districts save jobs, according to information from the U.S. Department of Education. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a letter to Congress yesterday to request $23 billion to preserve education jobs, $1 billion for early childhood education jobs and $2 billion for public safety.

Here's the text of the letter:

May 13, 2010

Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515

Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Madam Speaker and Mr. Leader:
We are gravely concerned that ongoing state and local budget challenges are threatening hundreds of thousands of teacher jobs for the upcoming school year, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 education jobs at risk. Without swift action, millions of children will experience these budget cuts in one way or another through reductions in class time; cuts to early childhood programs, extracurricular activities, and summer school; and reduced course offerings as teachers are laid off. These budget cuts would also undermine the groundbreaking reform efforts underway in states and districts all across the country.

At the very same time as schools face these challenges, budget cuts to police and fire departments threaten to undermine public safety and the emergency readiness of first-responders. All of these budget cuts threaten to cause damage that ripples through the economy as a whole. The layoffs create a new drag on the economy when – despite the recent encouraging jobs report – we still have a long way to go.
We applaud Chairmen Harkin, Miller and Obey for crafting legislation in direct response to these challenges. S. 3206, the Keep Our Educators Working Act, H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act, and H.R. 4812, the Local Jobs for America Act, each call for $23 billion in emergency support to preserve education jobs modeled after the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This funding would keep teachers in the classroom while helping to sustain meaningful and necessary reforms in public education across the country.

We urge Congress to include this funding in the supplemental appropriations bills soon to be considered. We also urge Congress to include $2 billion in support to localities for police and firefighters to ensure that our communities remain safe, as well as $1 billion in funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to preserve early childhood education jobs and ensure that our youngest children do not lose the supports and services critical to their learning and overall well-being.

Thank you for your consideration of these views. The Obama Administration looks forward to working with Congress to refine this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

Sincerely,



Arne Duncan

cc: Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Honorable Tom Harkin
Honorable David Obey
Honorable George Miller