We are in a strange era when nothing is normal. It’s like we have entered into a twilight zone.
What was illegal is now legal and what was legal is now illegal. People expect borrowed money to be forgiven or bailed out.
What happened to responsibility? Religions violate and change their rules that have stood centuries as our faith. There’s confusion on how address a person without offending them.
We have placed fault on equipment rather than individuals. Immigrants have taken priority over our citizens. Proclaimed sanctuary cities for immigrants are now protesting incoming immigrants. Property taxes are exploding in one year from 50% and higher increase. Their reasoning to homestead residents is that newcomers are purchasing properties at a higher price. Therefore we must suffer the burden.
I bet that if an investigation were conducted of the Cameron County Appraisal District employees to include the top management, we would find a huge discrepancy compared to its citizens.
We need to go back to normality. Remember when defending yourself against aggression wasn’t a crime? Now we have become the criminals for defending ourselves.
Do I foresee an unwanted revolt in the future? I hope not, but our backs are up against the wall. God bless the USA!
Rubén García
Harlingen
School funding
found lacking
For those of us who are and have been educators, the dismal response of our current Republican legislators during the last session to fund public education has been a betrayal of our school students, teachers and communities.
Texas ranks 42nd in per-pupil spending and instead of funding this legislative session with a huge budget surplus, we find no teacher raises and no new money for our schools.
One would conclude that Republicans have been and are deliberately sabotaging our public education system for the sake of their private investors/vendors in the guise of supplying them venture capital paid by us taxpayers for their new school voucher programs or educational service agencies.
When we are fretting about our property taxes as so many in this column do, think again why our taxes are so high, and consider it is because local property taxes must subsidize the state’s continued underfunding of our public schools.
According to the June issue of Texas Monthly and Paul Colbert, former state legislator and school finance expert, “The Legislature, largely unbeknown to the public, has devised a system where it disinvests in public schools while putting an increasing burden on local taxpayers. The state share of funding to ISDs has fallen from 44 percent in 2011 to 31 percent in 2022. More and more, the tab is picked up by unwitting homeowners, renters, and business owners.”
It’s important to question our local school board members now about their budgets, and if they’ve been working in a deficit or are fully funded. What will the answers be in our RGV public schools?
The problem isn’t our public education system, it’s the politicians who control the funding of our public schools.
Diane Teter
Edinburg
LETTERS — Limit letters to 300 words; all letters are subject to editing. Mail: P.O. Box 3267, McAllen, TX78502-3267; Email: [email protected]
