Letters to the editor: Oct. 30, 2022

School bond money doesn't leave

local districts through recapture

Driving home along Bee Caves Road, I saw signs for the school bonds up for vote in Austin, Eanes and Lake Travis school districts.

Although my kids are grown, I want to remind everyone that most school bond money is not subject to the state's recapture program, also called Robin Hood. A huge amount of school tax dollars leave these school districts every year through recapture. Not bond money.

Please vote yes for school bonds. Yes, it will mean a few more dollars out of your pocket each year, but until Robin Hood is repealed, it's what we have to do.

Mary Alice Kuykendall, Horseshoe Bay

Woman's tragic story illustrates

the cruelty of Texas' abortion ban

Re: Oct. 23 article, "Grumet: 'It's barbaric,' says Austin woman denied care as pregnancy unraveled."

This tragic story illustrates how cruel and invasive the new abortion standard is in Texas. There is no safe harbor for physicians in Senate Bill 8. Worse, the “bounty” provision means anyone can bring a case against any physician. Even if there were better safeguards for cases where women’s lives are in danger, what kind of standard is that for medical practice? How would the law’s proponents feel if they presented at an emergency room with appendicitis and the physician told them to go home and call him or her after it ruptures and “your life is in danger.” Amanda Zurawski was trying to start a family. By delaying treatment not only was her life placed in jeopardy, but so was her ability to have a child in the future. If you are a woman, or have women you care about, take a step toward giving Texas women full access to medical care by voting Abbott, Patrick and Paxton out of office.

Chuck Reynolds, Austin

Only fixes at the state level can

repair our school finance system

Re: Oct. 20 article, "How to sell a $2.44B school bond? Make sure voters know what they're getting."

I would be more likely to vote for the Austin school district's $2.44 billion bond package if it explicitly offered money for teachers and counselors. Instead it raises money for building maintenance even as "the district in September approved a 6.5-cent cut to the maintenance and operations rate."

In the article, bond proponents used extremely weak language to hint at the possibility of teacher raises, such as "free up maintenance costs for other uses, like paying teachers more" and "that money could go to other things, like paying teachers."

AISD can't afford to maintain their buildings or pay their teachers. This bill perpetuates our dysfunctional school financing system. Structural fixes that are sustainable into the future are only possible by fixes at the state level. This requires new state leadership that actually believes in public education and will finance it accordingly. Please vote to support our teachers and students.

Tim Hayles, Austin

What we need are homestead

exemptions for all residences

I hear lots of talk about housing affordability and equity. A step to improve both would be residential homestead exemptions for all residential properties.

While as an owner, I enjoy the protection of limited tax increases that my homestead exemption provides, the tenants in my rental property have no such protections from the 40-50% price increases lately. Surely, this is a big reason for the rent increases we have seen. It seems only fair that they should have the same protection over their housing costs that I enjoy as an owner. The greedy landlords who do not pass the savings on will soon find their properties vacant. This would immediately benefit every renter now.

Expensive? Yes. So are the housing bonds we are being asked to pass and this would help more people.

David Leffler, Austin

Uvalde is a prime example why

we need gun reform in Texas

“The sound of children screaming has been removed.” This message was shared across the nation as we watched the horrific crime unfold on May 24, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

I am a senior at TAMUCC and an Electoral Fellow at MoveOn. As someone who has been involved in politics since the fourth grade, I have observed many school shootings, but Uvalde struck me differently. I realized that this could happen anywhere if we don’t take immediate action.

It’s been four months and Gov. Abbott has refused to listen to the families. Uvalde families have been so courageous in their effort to seek justice, from protesting in Austin to camping out at the Uvalde school district's headquarters for several days.

Uvalde is a prime example of why we need to reform Texas’s ridiculous gun laws.

Ricardo Longoria, Falfurrias

We need new leaders who support

teachers, families and education

A year ago, I wrote a letter to the editor calling out the worn out tropes about LGBTQ content in schools that Gov. Abbott was cynically using to attack schools and school libraries. I had no idea that the situation with politically motivated attacks on schools would get so much worse over this past year.

We need to elect new leadership in Texas. We need leaders who support the excellent teachers, librarians and counselors in our state who sincerely care about families and kids' education, leaders who will avoid extremist politics, and who will support teachers and safety for our kids.

It's past time for change. Please choose leaders like Beto O'Rourke, Mike Collier, Rochelle M. Garza and AISD school board member Arati Singh who will lead our state in a more positive direction and support educators and our families.

Our vote is our voice, and students need us.

Carolyn Foote, Austin

Abbott could instead work with others

to find solutions on issues at border

A major component of Gov. Abbott’s job is to look out for the best interests of Texans. I get that. And perhaps other parts of the country should help to care for migrants. I get that, too.

However, this does not mean that Gov. Abbott should act like a dictator and unilaterally decide where and when to move these migrants out of state. This has only caused chaos and more problems for both the migrants and the cities he sends them to.

If our governor would work with other governors and mayors in a spirit of cooperation, the pressure on our border towns could be relieved and migrants could receive the help they so desperately need.

The last time I checked, Texas was still part of the United States of America. Maybe the next time Gov. Abbott prays, he can ask for guidance on the meaning of the word “united.”

Cynthia Scale, Georgetown

Burying the interstate through downtown

is the right vision for Austin's future

Re: Oct. 23 article, "Endorsement: Israel offers best vision to lead as Austin mayor."

I was pleased to read that Celia Israel is promoting a vision of Interstate 35 that aligns with my own: Bury it through downtown and add park space above, linking east and west Austin.

I would add that such park space could be ringed with affordable housing for teachers, hospitality service workers, and artists/musicians. Boston did "The Big Dig" and spent more than $24 billion to reduce congestion and carbon emissions. We can build tunnels and the inner city metro lines that will bring Austin infrastructure into the 21st century.

Once we have a functioning core, outlying communities will support arterial lines to get there. Let's reduce congestion, our carbon footprint, and road raging in Central Texas.

Albert Cantara, Austin

Attorney general would not

qualify to participate in a jury

I recently had to register online for a jury summons.

If I had been found guilty of a misdemeanor by theft or a felony, I would be disqualified from participating. If I were under indictment I would not qualify to participate.

I wondered how the Attorney General for the state of Texas could perform his duties, including being "the state's top law enforcement officer" (according to texasattorneygeneral.gov ), if he were not eligible to serve as a juror in this state due to the fact he has been under indictment for the last seven years.

The more troubling fact is that he is allowed to continue to hold his office — and indeed, run for office — even though he would be prohibited from fulfilling his civic duty to sit on a jury. Another case of "Do as I say, not as I do"? Vote!

Wendy Wood, Austin

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman letters to the editor: Oct. 30, 2022