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AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Vice President of Policy Chuck DeVore authored an article last week for Breitbart Texas entitled, “Texas Public Education Has Bloated Bureaucracy to $500 Million Annually.” In the piece, DeVore writes: “Numerous studies have shown that per pupil public education spending has more than doubled in inflation adjusted terms since 1970, yet both math and reading scores have been stagnant since then. In 1970, the average American teacher had 22.6 students in a class. Today, they have 16. So, results certainly do not flow from money. In Texas, we have 15.4—fewer students in the classroom than the national average—a fact one would be hard-pressed to hear amidst the non-stop insistence that we underfund our schools in Texas. “That said, what if Texas had restrained the ratio of support staff to teachers at 1989 levels and instead applied the money saved towards paying teachers? Since non-classroom bureaucrats are paid far more than are teachers, each support position not hired would result in the ability to pay 1.5 teachers. By 2012, the effect would be pronounced, with 9,716 teachers in the classroom supported by 6,651 fewer administrators. Alternatively, had Texas simply not hired almost 7,000 support staff, the annual budget savings to Texas taxpayers would be at least $500 million.” The article can be read in its entirety here: http://bit.ly/1evPdCt. To schedule an interview with Mr. DeVore contact Kristen Indriago at [email protected] or 512.472.2700. The Honorable Chuck DeVore is the Vice President of Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He served six years in the California Assembly and is the author of “The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America.” The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com -30- |