Hearing The Voices of Retired Teachers

I was invited to speak to a group of retired school teachers to discuss the upcoming session and to listen to their concerns about the state of retired teachers in Texas. My thanks to the Edinburg Retired Teachers Association. I was impressed with how engaged they remain in the state of public education. "Please tell me that the people in Austin have not given up on our public school system," one teacher privately told me.

"A good number of people are still fighting for our public schools," I responded. "I'll keep fighting." I told them about the political conflict in the primaries between pro-education forces and those who supported the Leininger position. They seemed singularly concerned that we legislators understand the importance of a good education in our public schools.

"How long until retired teachers see assistance from the legislature," another teacher asked. I expressed hope for the coming regular session and committed to work to that end. Each of these teachers had a tremendous impact on my small community. Each of them new me as a child, so much so, that I apologized for my nature as a young boy. I thanked them for their hard work and their dedication to our community. I told them that I would work with the same tireless effort they showed me and my companions. I work down the road and invited them to stop on by for a visit. They told me that they would do that and would pay a visit to the Capitol.

A note to my colleagues, our teachers care and are watching you. If I could have a little liberty with the slogan, this would be the slogan for this event - "Don't Mess With Texas Public Schools" or "Don't Mess With Public School Teachers."