ON Saturday June 6th 2011 More than 200 teachers and parents protested against state cuts in school funding in a gathering at the rotunda of the Texas Capitol on Monday.

They lined the hallway leading to the House chamber as lawmakers arrived for a brief floor session, waving placards and singing a song that ended with, "We will vote you out."

The protest organized by the American Federation of Teachers was intended to pressure lawmakers to alter their plan to cut $4 billion from the state's obligation to school districts. Public education in Texas is paid for with state-collected sales and business taxes and local property taxes. State Republican leaders and the Republican-controlled Legislature have chosen to close a $27 billion budget shortfall mostly through cutting state services. They tapped $3.2 billion of the state's nearly $10 billion Rainy Day Fund to cover a deficit in the current budget, but lawmakers chose not to use it any further. Chanting "Spend the Rainy Day Fund," the teachers and parents protesting Monday oppose firing teachers and closing schools, which will be necessary if the new school finance plan becomes law. The Senate passed the bill on Friday and the House is expected to take it up on Thursday. If the House does not modify the legislation, it will then go to the governor.

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Produced for Austin Indymedia by Jeff Zavala.
A ZGraphix production.
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