Must Be Present to Win

I have made a number of references in my blogs to articles written by Ross Ramsey of the Texas Tribune.  His article touched on the need for businesses to stay engaged with the legislature, specifically relating to the lobbying by businesses late in the session who were opposed to the LG’s bathroom bill. He continues to be a voice of reason and this headline really landed with me as also addressing issues relating to public education. 

For me, this headline can be a rallying cry for engagement by those whose lives touch and are touched by our public education system.  I’ve written more than one blog discussing the need for educators to actively engage in the voting process, to exercise their power in numbers to affect an outcome in elections that will be more favorable to public education initiatives and, more importantly, the future of the nearly 5.4 million Texas public education students.  Never has it been more important that the effort to create voting cultures in districts and communities succeeds. 

But you must be present to win, i.e., you have to engage and then participate by voting.  I’ve heard several people say to me, “but I don’t know who to vote for”.  There are and will be numerous resources that provide information on candidates.  Some will be partisan but many more will be non-partisan.  Among the latter, I will continue to include Texas Parent PAC, Texans for Public Education and Texas Educators Vote.  Visit any of their web sites to get a sense of what they are doing to promote engagement and to share information regarding candidate platforms.

With the legislative and special sessions now in the past and discussions largely dominated by testing, Hurricane Harvey and other considerations, it’s important to engage now.  We have 18 months until the March, 2019 primaries (16 until early voting).  If we wait until close to the primaries, we will have lost the opportunity to be a part of the discussion and, in many cases, the opportunity to influence the outcome of the next election cycle.  Kids across the state are counting on us to act; let’s be certain that we make education a priority by becoming more engaged and by helping to lead the charge to bring attention to the issues that will impact our students’ ability to succeed.

No, you can’t call it in by just talking about the issues.  You must be present to win in the form of meetings with incumbents and challengers, as well casting a vote for those individuals favorable to, and supportive of, public education.