http://www.statesman.com/opinion/state-board-of-education-should-delay-science-textbook-693410.htmlState Board of Education should delay science textbook purchase
Published: 5:41 p.m. Monday, May 17, 2010
Members of the State Board of Education determined to bend school curriculum to conform to their narrow views are deaf to experts in the field of science and social studies, oblivious to election results and impervious to reason.
Maybe, just maybe, a $1.4 billion price tag on new science textbooks can command their attention.
The board meets this week to put the finishing touches on the social studies curriculum it's rammed through an ideological meat grinder but first face a decision on whether to spend $1.4 billion on science textbooks or hold up on the purchase for a year.
Fiscal responsibility — not to mention political prudence — would dictate that the board delay the science textbook buy.
Texas legislators face a $15 billion to $18 billion budget shortfall when they begin deliberating the state's two-year budget in January 2011. Holding off on the textbook buy would save $1.4 billion in the 2012-2013 budget.
As the American-Statesman's Kate Alexander reported in Sunday's editions, the board could stick with the current textbooks and rely on electronic supplements.
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