Dear Parents and Community,

The Plano ISD Board of Trustees and district administrators met with legislators this week in Austin who told us that they have not heard from the Plano ISD community regarding the lack of school funding. We know that your voice matters. Having heard from the community-at-large about assessment and accountability, legislators are beginning to respond to pleas regarding paths to graduation and end-of-course exams. Now we must get their attention regarding funding for Plano ISD--they must hear from you.

The district cut $52 million over the 2011-13 biennium in response to drastic state reductions. These cuts were painful to Plano ISD schools, but were made in such a way to minimize instructional impact in classrooms and to preserve the broad range of programs offered to students. While this approach has been to the benefit of your children locally, we cannot sustain our current programs and instructional model over the next two years without significant additional funding.

The state comptroller declared an $8 billion state surplus and it is obvious that these cuts over the past two years could have been avoided. It is frustrating that the legislature does not feel inclined to return any meaningful funds to communities like Plano.

We need your voice in Austin. It can be as simple as an e-mail or phone call saying our schools are being compromised by the legislature's lack of action on funding.

Click here to log in and send your message to elected officials.

You may view Plano ISD's legislative priorities and find contact information for legislators on our Advocacy for Plano ISD website.

Sincerely,

Richard Matkin
Superintendent of Schools