Tag Archives: pre-kindergarten

Early to Rise appeal denied

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That pretty much wraps it up, for now at least. A controversial 1-cent property tax to buoy local preschools will not be on the November ballot following a Houston appeals court ruling. The 14th Court of Appeals, in an opinion … Continue reading →

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No Early To Rise on the ballot

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Place your bets on the outcome of the litigation. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Monday he would not place a 1-cent property tax on the November ballot intended to buoy area pre-schools, prompting a lawsuit by a local nonprofit … Continue reading →

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The law and the Early To Rise petition process

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Much has been made about the obscurity of the state law that allows for the petition process that the Early To Rise folks have followed to put an item on the ballot that would raise money for pre-K education in … Continue reading →

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Finally, the Early To Rise plan

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is what we’ve got after their presentation to the HCDE Board of Trustees on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Harris County School Readiness Corp. pitched its plan to expand early education at a five-hour gathering with wary trustees for the … Continue reading →

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Time for more information about Early To Rise

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

What Lisa Falkenberg says. They’ve turned over more than 150,000 signatures in favor of putting an early education tax on the Harris County ballot in November. Now the folks behind the Early to Rise campaign need to turn over the … Continue reading →

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Early To Rise submits its petitions

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From here it gets real. The Harris County School Readiness Corp., a new nonprofit led by business and civic leaders, is calling for a ballot intiative to levy a 1-cent-per-$100 tax through the Harris County Department of Education to generate … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Chron for Early To Rise

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Technically, this isn’t an endorsement, since there isn’t anything to endorse just yet. Nonetheless, it is clear that the Chron supports the Early To Rise campaign. It looks like Harris County will vote on the future of the Astrodome this … Continue reading →

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School superintendents for Early To Rise

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the press release: (Houston, TX) Today Harris County Superintendents participated in a press conference for the Early to Rise campaign, which is seeking to create a dedicated funding stream to improve the quality of early childhood education through a … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Garcia endorses the Early To Rise campaign

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It makes sense that he would. The group attempting to get a 1-cent tax hike on the November ballot to bolster early childhood education programs got a hearty endorsement from Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Wednesday, and announced it … Continue reading →

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Petitioning for Early To Rise

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This arrived in my inbox a couple of days ago: With only two weeks to go, we really need your help! We are working to get an initiative on the ballot in November 2013 to fund the Early to Rise Program. The … Continue reading →

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More on the HCDE pre-k proposal

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some more details on that pre-k proposal being pitched to the HCDE. It raises more questions than it answers. Members applauded the effort by the recently formed Harris County School Readiness Corp., a non-profit group whose membership includes business, philanthropic … Continue reading →

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Would you pay more for pre-K in Harris County?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You might get the chance to vote on it. The recently formed Harris County School Readiness Corp., a group whose membership includes former Houston first lady Andrea White, is circulating a petition calling for the placement of an item on … Continue reading →

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From the “It could happen, but it won’t” department

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it could be the case that Texas could get federal pre-K funds, but nobody really expects that to happen, right? Texas could get an estimated $308 million in grants to fund one year of early childhood education if … Continue reading →

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Senate committee restores some money to public education

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Emphasis on the “some”. Texas public schools would get back a chunk of the $5.4 billion in state funding they lost two years ago under a budget proposal adopted by the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday. But they probably should … Continue reading →

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2012 election results

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As I type this there are still a number of unsettled races in Texas, so things may change between now and tomorrow morning after we’ve all had an insufficient night’s sleep. But here’s how they stand at this time, and … Continue reading →

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What I’ll be looking for tonight

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that I’ll be on KPFT tonight starting at 7 PM to talk about the elections. Here’s a preview of the things I’ll be looking for: 1. SD10 – Sen. Wendy Davis vs Mark Shelton: Easily the most … Continue reading →

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Eight billion dollars

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s how much is needed per year to make public education whole. Lynn Moak told state District Judge John Dietz that it will take more than $8 billion a year in additional money to get students on target to graduate … Continue reading →

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Castro puts pre-K on the national stage

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to thrusting himself into the national spotlight with his DNC keynote address, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro also brought the discussion about pre-kindergarten education to the fore. Under the biggest spotlight of his political career, Mayor Julián Castro … Continue reading →

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San Antonio’s pre-k referendum

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Houston is chock full of ballot referenda this fall, but the most interesting and potentially consequential one in the state is San Antonio. An initiative from San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro that would direct a portion of sales tax revenue … Continue reading →

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Erica Lee: How to Keep a First Grader Off Death Row

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. It is the beginning of the school year and excitement is in the air. Children are looking for their classmates in … Continue reading →

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The end of full day pre-K

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More ways in which the Lege is abdicating its responsibility to Texas. Although many experts say these full-day classes are beneficial to children, looming cuts to education funding have put many of these full-day pre-K programs on the chopping block … Continue reading →

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Murdock on the cuts to public education

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not too surprisingly, former state demographer Steve Murdock thinks that the looming cuts to public education are a long-term disaster for the state. He singled out pre-K and TEXAS grants as the top two items of concern. “I am very … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, Pre-K

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t need these things in the Century of Texas. Just how important is full-day pre-kindergarten for the state’s youngest and most disadvantaged kids? Is it more important than after-school tutoring? Than canceling music and art classes? As they brace … Continue reading →

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More on Perry’s vetoes

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry’s veto of SB2468, the “revolving door” restrictions bill for Harris County, has puzzled its sponsor. In his veto message, Perry said he rejected the ethics bill, authored by Sen. Mario Gallegos, because it addressed lobbying matters and related … Continue reading →

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