Explaining the mechanics of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is reminiscent of Lilliputian government in “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift. Gulliver observes that the process of selecting ministers consists of “five or six of those candidates petition[ing] the emperor to entertain his majesty and the court with a dance on the rope; and whoever jumps the...
Halloween tourists are making their annual descent on Salem, Massachusetts to visit the real-life site of the supernatural on trial—the 1692 execution of 19 people for witchcraft. Piles of books and movies tell the Salem witch trial story, replete with wild-eyed, sexually repressed Puritan zealots roving the dark, foggy countryside seeking out women to drag...
In 1910, my great grandfather and namesake, Rabbi A.D. Rosenblatt, arrived in Galveston. But he didn’t stay long; he and his family moved out of Texas in 1923 because A.D. felt that the available educational options did not meet the needs of his children. My grandfather repeated this cycle in the 1950’s, settling in Galveston...
A new poll from UT/Texas Politics Project shows significant support for school choice among Texans. A clear majority, 51%, say they support “establishing a voucher, educational savings account (ESA), or other ‘school choice’ program in Texas,” while just 30% oppose and 19% had no opinion. The crosstabs reveal some other interesting data: 46% of rural...
It’s election season, which means Texas local governments are, once again, asking voters to approve huge quantities of new debt. In fact, according to the Bond Review Board’s bond election database, Texas cities, counties, school districts, and special districts are seeking voter-approval for 199 separate propositions in all, which are worth a combined $24.4 billion...
Every parent wants a better life for their children. It’s built into us, in our spirit, in our DNA, however you want to look at it—the drive to do better for our kids is part of us. However, many among us are not able to answer that God-given mission to provide a better life for...
The following commentary is published on Thursdays as part of TPPF’s subscriber-only newsletter The Post. If you would like to subscribe to The Post, click here. Several school districts have taken the ethically questionable step of using public resources to lobby against school choice. Plano ISD posted a one-sided piece on its website and the superintendent...
Several years ago, an Austin American-Statesman reporter, Lori Hawkins, covered a gathering of several hundred Austinites who’d met to vent their frustrations over surging property tax bills and to express concern that they’d “soon be priced out of their homes.” Rather fortuitously, Hawkins interviewed an Austin homeowner in attendance, Gretchen Gardner, who inadvertently revealed some...
Senate Bill 17, which will close down the so-called “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” offices on Texas campuses in January, was not passed to push an ideological agenda on Texas universities. Instead, the priority was to stop a sanctioned system of internal indoctrination that is making students stupid. Recent protests in Austin make it clear that for many...
What do you do if your school district advocates against you? Well, that’s what taxpayers in Belton ISD (BISD) are trying to figure out. On Tuesday, BISD’s communications team sent out an email blast deriding parental empowerment legislation being considered at the Legislature right now. In the statement, which is now prominently featured on the...
Alamo Heights ISD, a small affluent district northeast of downtown San Antonio, appears to be firmly against giving poor kids trapped in failing schools a way out. In a newly published letter, the school board makes a number of searing charges against Education Savings Accounts—a tool that allows parents to pay for tuition at any...
As the Texas Legislature meets in special session to debate whether or not to empower parents with school choice, the battle lines are being clearly drawn. Those in favor of expanding school choice point advance their case on the basis of both general principles and documented results. At the level of principle, they affirm that...