• • WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS. JR. GOVERNOR //2 3 4// STATE OF TEXAS OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR AUSTIN, TEXAS 7 8 711 January 25, 1988 37.02 HB 72 Paragraphs Dear //5//: Thank you for your letter. I appreciate hearing from you. I support our public education system. I believe it is the backbone of our society and the foundation of Texas' future. I do not believe House Bill 72 is a perfect piece of legislation. We have never enacted a perfect bill. There are several areas in this particular bill that need to be refined. This legislation reduced local control of our schools and increased paperwork for our teachers and school districts. The career ladder program is not working as well as was expected. It has tended to pit one teacher against another and has not rewarded our best teachers. I strongly support the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching, but we must find a more effective application of the career ladder concept. I still believe the six-week "no pass-no play" period is a disincentive to our students and should be reduced to three weeks. We must work to increase student achievement levels while ensuring accountability to our taxpayers for every dollar spent in education. I have formed a task force to offer suggestions to improve our career ladder system. I supported legislation that reduced the number of performance appraisals for outstanding teachers during the 70th Legislature. Throughout my administration, I will be reviewing our educational policies and funding. I will continue to work toward our goal of the best educational system for our children. Sincerely, 411 William P. Clements, Jr. Governor WPC:DPF/ls