9/21/09 (Lubbock): REMARKS OF HANK GILBERT AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

LUBBOCK—The following are the remarks, as prepared for delivery, of Hank Gilbert, Democratic candidate for Governor of Texas.

BEGIN REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here in Lubbock this afternoon on the former site of Reese Air Force Base, which enterprising Texans have helped turn into this industrial space.

All important reforms come at a cost and what I’m proposing today is no exception. However, we can no longer act as though the critical changes we need to make are out of reach. We have wasted decades getting mired down on cost and never really looked at the merits of the plan… or what it would do to build the economy long term. This fixation on cost to the exclusion of benefit is the reason I will hold my school finance package until November 24. Until then, every couple of weeks, we’ll be adding more pieces to this plan in roll outs across the state. Make no mistake, finance reform is just as important, especially to beleaguered property owners like myself.

As a former teacher and father of two boys who attend public school, education is very important to me. That’s why I’m making a pledge to you today that I will send the Texas Legislature a comprehensive education reform package in not just my first term but in my first week in office, and I’ll ask the legislature to pass it. We haven’t had comprehensive education reform in Texas since House Bill 72 passed in a special session in 1984. That’s at least a decade too long. Texans can’t wait any longer for real, comprehensive reform.

I want to share some alarming statistics to give you an idea of why there is such urgency surrounding comprehensive K-12 reform:

• Texas ranks third in the nation in terms of money spent on public education, but 45^th in the nation in terms of dollars spent per student.
• Texas ranks 34^th in the nation when it comes to average teacher salaries.
• Texas ranks dead last in terms of the percent of our population over age 25 with a high school diploma.
• Our high school graduation rate is the 41^st worst in the nation.

Those statistics sicken me but they appear to have no effect on Governor Perry or Senator Hutchison. They’ve spent a combined four decades in office either dodging the issue of education reform or trying to hold a broken system together with paste and modeling clay.

Today, I’m proposing a sweeping dropout reform package that includes free, online tutoring available to all Texas public school students, catch up programs for credit delinquent students, and more.

Lawmakers often have the misconception that one good reform—like dropout reform—will have a magical effect on the entire system. It doesn’t. That’s why my reform package is multi-faceted, and all encompassing:

Because the foundation of good students is a quality education in the early years of childhood, I’m proposing universal pre-kindergarten statewide by 2013.

Because the middle school grades have long been ignored by our policymakers in Austin, I’m proposing a package of middle school reforms that will get students ready for high school and the future.

Because math and science will help make our children into the kind of problem solvers we need for the 21^st century, I’m proposing strengthening math and science education in elementary, middle and high schools.

Because our economy needs students with valued skills and certifications in fields like nursing and electronics, I’m proposing a vocational and technical high school graduation track that includes stakeholder partnerships between schools, unions, and businesses to give students access to apprenticeships and real world experience. Because the child sitting in a desk on the back row of any classroom in any school district in Texas could be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, I’m proposing expanding curriculum offerings to include coursework in entrepreneurship.

Teachers are among society’s most important professionals, and among our state’s least valued assets. That’s why I’m proposing an across the board $5,000 teacher pay raise and busting the cap on the State Minimum Salary Schedule out to 30 years to attract and retain more qualified teachers.

We’re also going to end the “test and punish” culture in student assessment and school accountability.

Curriculum isn’t the only thing we need to reform. Our schools are crying out for better facilities. Since we’ll need 21^st century schoolhouses to accommodate all of these 21^st century reforms, I’m proposing a state building fund to help schools meet their physical plant requirements for the next decade and beyond.

It is also high time we took politics out of curriculum development and textbook adoption. Copernicus settled the fact that the Earth revolved around the sun back in the 1500s. In the 21^st century, we don’t need a bunch of ignorant, though well intentioned, people trying to tell our kids that it works the other way around.

Over the next couple of months, you’re going to hear a lot more from me- on education and other issues. I wanted to focus on education today because it is the single-largest issue facing our state at this time. The future of our economy depends on creating  school systems that prepare our children to succeed by giving them the knowledge and skills to prosper. It’s the only guaranteed way of bringing long term prosperity back to this state.

Download a Microsoft Word copy of these remarks here.