Senator’s daughter still teaching, so far

Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, whose committee has been trying to find more (but not enough) money for education and other needs, noted during a hearing this afternoon that his daughter is a teacher.

“She hasn’t been laid off yet,” he added, although he didn’t say where she taught or even if she taught in Texas.

I hope she keeps her job, and I hope many, many other teachers and school district employees keep their jobs as well. The number will depend to a large extent on how much success Ogden and his fellow senators have in convincing the House and the governor to quit trying to ruin public education.

In a cursory review of today’s news clips, I counted more than 800 jobs recently lost, some by attrition, in five school districts alone – Angleton, Calallen, Katy, Spring and Ector County. Unfortunately, the clips are full of similar stories every day.

While the Legislature grinds away, real people – a lot of real people – have their futures on the line.