The defunding of our Texas Libraries (Dallas, Plano: real estate, leases, how much)

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by ognend

Hey, so long as YOU are taken care of.
OD

Most people need regular access to academic articles? (e.g. JSTOR?) News to me...

[Bo]

Originally Posted by nana053

Last year the state took away almost $5,000,000 from texshare funding and took all other funding for our libraries to zero. They no longer fund our k-12 databases

I used databases when I was in college and grad school, so I get that they have value. I've looked at the school web site and was impressed by the databases the school libraries have access to, both in the library and from home, using a login.

Together, my kids have been in Texas schools for 17 school years. In all of that time, through dozens of research papers and projects and through GT and AP classes, neither of them has ever used the K-12 databases, not even once! In my experience kids do all of their research these days using Google, so databases are no longer useful in K-12. It's time to let go of this relic from the past. Put the millions to use in some other way.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by Newbe10

I agree. Perry, like most right-wing nut jobs is only concerned about helping those who already have the means to help themselves; which would include his rich political buddies. I strongly believe that he won't get reelected in 2014. He is apart of the "extreme element" that is dragging the GOP down into the abyss.

The governor of Texas doesn't have much power.
You describe ALL politicians in your description, including Obama who is probably your idol.
And our "right wing nut job" state is doing pretty well right now, so maybe you need to hold your words and stop looking like a fool.

[Johnhw2]

Did I miss the date or graph on library utilization trends? Both bricks and mortar as well as online access? Technology changes things and gov can be slow to adapt. I'm not sure that much thought was put into reducing this funding but it might be a piece of the tough decisions made to not just raise taxes and keep spending on the same things over time... but I doubt it... perhaps the improved outlook in Texas tax revenues will restore what is needed to this area.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by Bo

I used databases when I was in college and grad school, so I get that they have value. I've looked at the school web site and was impressed by the databases the school libraries have access to, both in the library and from home, using a login.

Together, my kids have been in Texas schools for 17 school years. In all of that time, through dozens of research papers and projects and through GT and AP classes, neither of them has ever used the K-12 databases, not even once! In my experience kids do all of their research these days using Google, so databases are no longer useful in K-12. It's time to let go of this relic from the past. Put the millions to use in some other way.

Google gives too much misinformation. We have to teach the kids to use actual articles with actual data.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

The governor of Texas doesn't have much power.
You describe ALL politicians in your description, including Obama who is probably your idol.
And our "right wing nut job" state is doing pretty well right now, so maybe you need to hold your words and stop looking like a fool.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/us...pagewanted=all

Mr. Ryan’s specialty is helping clients like ExxonMobil and Neiman Marcus secure state and local tax breaks and other business incentives. It is a good line of work in Texas.

Under Mr. Perry, Texas gives out more of the incentives than any other state, around $19 billion a year, an examination by The New York Times has found. Texas justifies its largess by pointing out that it is home to half of all the private sector jobs created over the last decade nationwide. As the invitation to the fund-raiser boasted: “Texas leads the nation in job creation.”

Yet the raw numbers mask a more complicated reality behind the flood of incentives, the examination shows, and raise questions about who benefits more, the businesses or the people of Texas.

Along with the huge job growth, the state has the third-highest proportion of hourly jobs paying at or below minimum wage. And despite its low level of unemployment, Texas has the 11th-highest poverty rate among states.

Since Mr. Perry took office, companies have seen a drop in their school property taxes because of a special incentives program, as well as an across-the-board cut in the school tax rate. The recession has made the squeeze all the more difficult for schools.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

The governor of Texas doesn't have much power.
You describe ALL politicians in your description, including Obama who is probably your idol.
And our "right wing nut job" state is doing pretty well right now, so maybe you need to hold your words and stop looking like a fool.

Your the one who needs to hold your words fool. You have no idea what you are talking about. Texas is doing well because of the efforts of both Democrats and Republicans over the past few decades. Notice that I didn't condemn all Republicans as right wing nut jobs. The ones that currently control the party are. Rush Limbaugh is probably your idol ignoramus.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

The governor of Texas doesn't have much power.
You describe ALL politicians in your description, including Obama who is probably your idol.
And our "right wing nut job" state is doing pretty well right now, so maybe you need to hold your words and stop looking like a fool.

And you are wrong about the governor. He has a lot more power than you think.

[Newbe10]

I have lived here in TEXAS for going on three years now and although the economy itself seems to be doing "just fine," its obvious that things in the state government are anything but fine. If they were, then there wouldn't be this issue of having to defund public libraries or other educational facilities/institutes. I think I would rather have Chris Christie or Bobby Jindal as the governor of this state than the likes of Rick Perry.

[doctorjef]

Texas is considered a "weak governor" state and the constitutional powers of its governor are fairly minimal. They do include appointment powers, which are important, and extra-constitutionally the power to persuade and to lead, often behind the scenes. It has been considered that the Lt Governor actually has more effective power in Texas, due to the grip that office has on legislative affairs. Of course, any power is only as good as the will to use it.