State reps grilled about education, border and Obamacare

San Angelo Standard-Times (TX)

Jan. 19--SAN ANGELO -- State Rep. Drew Darby on Thursday vowed to fight "special interest groups" that he said are trying to undermine Texas' public education system by siphoning money to for-profit charter schools.

Darby made his comments during a public question-and-answer session with Evan Smith, CEO of The Texas Tribune. The event, which also included the participation of state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, was held at Howard College. About 300 people attended.

"Public schools are under attack, and there are efforts underway to destroy the public education system," Darby said. "There are forces that want to take away resources to fund other approaches.

"But you can't put lipstick on a pig."

Burrows said he does not currently support charter schools but is "willing to listen" to arguments in support of them.

Education quality has become a hot topic since the state recently released "grades" for all school districts in Texas. Many schools, including those in San Angelo and the Lubbock area, received failing "F" grades in some categories.

Darby and Burrows both said they don't believe the state's grading system is accurate.

"I don't believe my schools are performing at an F level," Burrows said.

Despite their unhappiness with the state's grading system, Darby and Burrows acknowledged that the state's measuring procedures are unlikely to be dropped soon. The system is strongly supported by the governor's office.

"It's not going anywhere anytime soon," Darby said. "We're going to have to keep the ratings but make it more useful. People want accountability."

Thursday's event is part of an ongoing series of public events sponsored by the Texas Tribune, a non-partisan media organization that focuses on public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Darby said the state's current proposed budget includes a $1.5 billion funding increase for public schools. The legislature still needs to address the current school funding formula, which provides a disproportionate amount of dollars to larger school districts.

Smith grilled Darby and Burrows about several topics, including the proposed state budget, which would increase funding for schools, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Transportation, but result in cuts to other programs and services.

Both politicians avoided naming which cuts they would support.

"It's a process between the House and Senate," Darby said. "It's a great opportunity to evaluate our budget and see what our priorities are."

Smith pressed harder on other issues, including whether they support President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico for border security.

"That's an impossibility," Darby finally admitted after Smith repeatedly asked whether he supported construction of a physical wall. "Where are you going to put it, through a river, through ranch property?"

Darby and Burrows said a more realistic possibility is a "technology wall" that would entail more security cameras. Both men also want the federal government to use more federal funds to maintain border security in Texas.

"The state has spent $2.8 billion on border security during the past three years," Darby said. "Border security is something that the federal government needs to step up and pay more of. We need those resources to return our officers so that they can protect their communities."

Burrows and Darby support the immediate repeal of the Affordable Health Care Act even though it would immediately leave more than 1.4 million Texans without insurance.

Burrows suggested state lawmakers should be allowed to create their own health care program for residents. Darby said Republican lawmakers already have several ideas about how to replace the health care act, but he did not provide any further details. He acknowledged there are no current plans that could be put into place to protect those who would lose their insurance if the act is repealed right away.

"People still have choices," Burrows said. "They can go to emergency rooms."

Darby and Burrows' opinion differed only once, on the issue of whether laws should be passed to require transgender people to use public facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their biological sex rather than the gender they identify as.

Burrows said he doesn't believe the issue is relevant to anybody living in the communities he represents. He would be willing to consider support for such a ban if his constituents expressed concerns, he said.

Darby called the topic "a non-issue."

"I just don't see it as a problem in San Angelo or West Texas," said Darby, who believes the issue should be addressed by local government. "The problem doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.

"I believe in local control. They are smart enough to create a policy. We (state legislators) need to stay out of these issues. We need to focus on education, the budget, water and transportation."

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