texas budget crisis

They've tried letters, emails, and lobbyists. But this month, a north Texas school superintendent and his administrators found another way to  express their feelings about state budget cuts and standardized testing.

Like most other state-funded programs, public library summer reading programs in Angelina County and all over Texas are feeling the pinch of tighter purse strings.

The Texas Legislature has passed a new state budget that cuts, among other things, $4 billion dollars out of funding for the state's public schools. School Superintendents around the state say that's a recipe for educational disaster.

The state budget bill just passed by the Texas  House would cut state funding of public schools by $8 billion dollars.  Every school district in the state would be affected.  School districts in Angelina County would lose $1 million each, and local school officials say they're worried.

In addition to losing teachers, Texas schools could also lose new textbooks in the legislature's struggle to balance the state budget, and it's turning into a tug of war between the legislature and the State Board of Education.