Seliger, King field questions on education, health care

Education and the rising cost of health care insurance were leading topics on citizens’ minds last Friday when State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) and State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) held a town hall meeting at Clarendon College’s Bairfield Activity Center.

Seliger opened the forum with an overview of the upcoming legislative session, which will begin next January with legislators dealing with a decline in oil, gas, and sales tax revenues.

“We’re telling people not to ask for more money, although there are areas of exception,” Seliger said, noting that lawmakers would be looking to put more money into public education and the department of transportation.

Seliger also praised the work of community colleges for doing an “exceptional job” of preparing people for higher degrees and for the workforce.

King agreed with the senator that education would be a main topic in Austin next year.

“There’s probably never enough money for education,” King said. “I’m just not sure where the money is going to come from.”

King said that transportation is important to him as well, especially since a recent federal regulation resulted in the closure of several state commercial drivers’ license offices that did not meet national guidelines. The representative said he supports more money for TxDOT but wants to make sure the CDL office in Pampa re-opens.

With the floor opened for questions, Clarendon fourth grader Benjamin Estlack asked Seliger about the STAAR test.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just let our teachers grade us?” Estlack asked.

Seliger replied that teachers are the ones who come up with the test questions for the state exam.

Estlack then commented on the stress placed on students taking the STAAR test, and Seliger said students should feel no more stress than taking any other test.

Hedley ISD Superintendent Colby Waldrop discussed the issue of rising health insurance costs resulting in less and less take-home pay for teachers. Seliger talked about the forces driving up the price of health care and raised the possibility of regulating health care like a utility. To Waldrop’s point specifically, the senator said the only solution would be to raise the base allotment to schools so they can raise teacher salaries.

Clarendon ISD teacher Brittany Monds also voiced her concern with her health insurance costs and her paycheck and asked why she should vote for King and Seliger. The senator said that he and King had done more for education than anybody and said the state does not set local teachers’ salaries and that responsibility rests with local districts.

Donley County Judge John Howard asked the legislators about a possible new four percent cap on counties’ ability to raise taxes. The current cap is eight percent, and Howard said the amount of revenue Donley can raise under the current rule would not even cover the cost of placing one juvenile in a detention center.

King said the four percent idea is being driven by Harris County.

“It’s the same people who want vouchers to go to private schools,” King said. “I think there are enough rural Republicans to stop this.”