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Ideas from Business Leaders

Set up business advisory counsels with school boards periodically so schools can hear specifically what the inadequacies are that businesses perceive and concrete ways to address them, including surveys and focus groups. Make education assume a higher place in the advocacy agenda of businesses (i.e., within chambers of commerce). Help to capitalize on education initiatives at a higher level. Encourage involvement of employees by providing flexible work schedules so that parents can be more actively involved in their children's education. Oppose vigorously any retreat from school funding equity. Texas Business and Education Coalition adopted a paper called "Principles of School Finance" that raises standards that any public school finance system must reach. It is posted on the TBEC web site at: www.tbec.org. Create an expectation around dialogues among the business community, civic community, education, and media, that any retreat from equity is not acceptable. Reject any definition of adequacy that follows the definition in the dictionary of barely able to meet minimum requirements. Adequate must be related to the expectations and standards we have for all our students. Increase and improve the capacity for growth in our public schools. Texas is adding 70,000 to 90,000 additional students to the public school system every year, and unless the public school finance system is designed to have the capacity to grow with the enrollment of our public schools, we will have under-funded public schools. No economy or community ever flourished on a formula of low skill, low wages, and low taxes. Our future does rest on that formula, and if we are not willing to raise the money to adequately fund public education in this state, we end up with low skilled workers earning low wages, and the kind of community none of us want. In Texas, we have five months to have a dialog, and create an environment where the legislature and our state leaders become aware of the right thing to do.

• Superintendents • School Board Members • University Presidents • Business Leaders • Civil Rights Lawyers • Community Members • Educators • Members of the Media Roundtable Co-Leads: Dr. Henry Cisneros American CityVista Mr. John Stevens Texas Business and Education Coalition