The Texas school funding system has long perplexed school district leaders and policymakers alike. Its complexity and the challenges it poses have persisted for decades. However, what the state fails to recognize is the system’s inadequacy in addressing current needs. Inflation has surged significantly since 2019, especially during the Biden administration, underscoring the urgency for updates in funding policies. Notably, school districts have not received a state-funded increase since 2019.

Primarily, the Texas government should prioritize making gradual adjustments rather than overhauling the entire system with each legislative change. There is a recurring pattern of legislative adjustments being made, often with delays in addressing critical issues, so massive changes are needed to fix the growing needs.

Despite some state representatives’ claims that school funding is adjusted, per-student spending has decreased by $590 in inflation-adjusted dollars over the past 10 years, according to the state’s Legislative Budget Board. Additionally, an Austin American-Statesman analysis of public education funding in recent years found that “adjusted to 2024 dollars, per-student funding from state and local sources is down by 12.9% — $10,387 this year [2023-24] compared with $11,919 per student in 2020.” 

It is crucial to clarify that the objective here is not to advocate a sweeping, large-scale increase in funding that attempts to hastily bridge the gap in Texas’ school funding. Instead, the focus is on promoting a deliberate and incremental approach grounded in rigorous factual analysis and realistic projections. This approach aims to systematically address the current deficiencies of the funding system, ensuring that adjustments are made responsibly and in a sustainable manner over time.

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By prioritizing incremental changes, informed by factual data and comprehensive assessments of educational needs, the goal is to achieve lasting improvements in the effectiveness and adequacy of Texas’s school funding policies. Currently, the members of the legislature are not interested in doing that. This approach would acknowledge the complexity of the matter at hand and aims to foster long-term stability and equity within the education system.

It is imperative that members of the Texas legislature prioritize effective reforms for the education system. Currently, there is a concerning trend where some politicians seem more inclined to disregard or obscure factual information rather than proactively address the pressing needs of the system. This stance undermines efforts to enact meaningful change and risks perpetuating the existing shortcomings in school funding, ultimately impacting the quality of education provided to students across the state.

The debate over the greatest athletes of all time typically fixates on familiar names and revered figures from various sports, those whose exploits are extensively documented in the media. People recognize Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth for their persistent dominance in their sports.

Yet amid these well-publicized personas, there exists a notable absence of recognition for Katie Ledecky. Despite her consistent and remarkable performances, Ledecky often finds herself overlooked in these conversations.

What sets Ledecky apart is her unparalleled ability to elevate her game with each competition. Her career trajectory is marked not only by victories but by a relentless pursuit of excellence that transcends the boundaries of traditional sports narratives. She wins elegantly. As she consistently sets new benchmarks and breaks records, Ledecky has firmly established herself as a trailblazer in the world of swimming.

In disciplines such as the 1500 freestyle, Ledecky’s dominance is unequivocal, holding the distinction of owning the top 19 fastest times globally. This extraordinary feat underscores her unparalleled mastery of the sport. She swims so far ahead of the pack that she is shown alone on the television. 

Her achievements extend beyond mere statistics, encompassing a remarkable seven Olympic gold medals and an astounding 21 world championship titles in swimming. She has only lost the 800 freestyle once since 2010. Such a remarkable tally of victories underscores Ledecky’s enduring impact and legacy for athletic achievement. So why is she not given the recognition she deserves?

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Thus, while the spotlight often shines on other celebrated athletes, Katie Ledecky’s consistent evolution and unparalleled success warrant recognition as one of the greatest athletes of all time, irrespective of sport. At the swimming world championships in 2015, she became the first swimmer to win the 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 freestyle races in a single competition. Her dominance has continued ever since. People like her won’t continue to exist if we allow more Lia Thomases to take the spotlight.

The Olympics will come again later this month, and Ledecky will almost definitely crush the field. It is time for her to get the recognition she deserves as one of the most dominant athletes of our time. After all, she just keeps winning.

As many Texans continue to live without power and deal with the damage from Hurricane Beryl, President Joe Biden continues to put politics over the needs of the country. Biden’s faux call out of the Texas government is insulting to Texans in their time of need.

Biden told the Houston Chronicle he had been trying to “track down” the governor to start the process of requesting aid. “I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have the authority to do that without a specific request from the governor.” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has been in Asia for the past several days, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-TX) has assumed the role of acting governor in his absence. The plans for this trip had been filed ahead of time, so the president’s claim about “tracking down” the governor is simply political grandstanding.

This puts a stark contrast to the previous instances of Biden taking time to focus on unity after major disasters. In a tour of Louisiana in 2021 after a hurricane struck that state, Biden said, “There’s nothing political about this. It’s just simply about saving lives and getting people back up and running, and we’re in this together.” What makes this one different? The president’s refusal to put politics aside and figure out how to get Texans the aid they need is insulting to his duty to them.

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Patrick took to X to express his disappointment with the president, stating, “He falsely accused me of being unreachable. He clearly did not realize that his own FEMA employees were by my side for three days! All he needed to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me. I even took a photo with them! Before making a formal request, we first needed to assess our outstanding needs, which we were actively doing alongside local officials as we toured the affected areas. While I was receiving a briefing today, the President called. To quote President Biden, this is a load of malarkey, and he’s shoveling it!”

Regardless of responsibility for the aid delay, it is reprehensible that Biden seized the earliest opportunity to criticize Republican leadership in Texas. With at least nine fatalities and widespread finger-pointing, this is a moment demanding presidential efforts to unite rather than divide. He has shown he can do it before, but he seems largely ineffective now. As millions endure power outages during the post-storm heat wave, Biden’s choice to prioritize interviews criticizing Texas officials during the crisis underscores his apparent lack of commitment to finding solutions.

The British elections on July 4 brought significant drama from the national results down to local races. George Galloway, a former member of Parliament, lost his reelection to Labour Party candidate Paul Waugh. Galloway has been the leader of the Workers Party in Britain since he founded it in 2019. Waugh is a former political journalist who has previously worked for Britain’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers and who grew up in the town. 

Galloway has never shied away from controversy. In 1994, he drew criticism for meeting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and telling him, “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.” He was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for criticizing then-Prime Minister Tony Blair over the war in Iraq. His fame reached its height in 2006 when he impersonated a cat on a reality television show. Basically, he’s built a career around theatrics rather than effective policy implementation.

He took his most recent parliamentary seat in February after winning an election dominated by the conflict in Gaza. During Galloway’s initial campaign, the Workers Party leader dubbed himself “Gaza George,” claiming the Hamas atrocities were “a concentration camp breakout” and described the terrorists as “fighters.” He deserved to lose in the July 4 elections. His continuous support for the terrorist organization is unacceptable. This win wasn’t just a Labour win. It was a win for Israel. Although Waugh made an “immediate ceasefire” in Israel a part of his platform for election, he is a better option than Galloway. 

Galloway’s pattern of cowardice knows no end, made clear by his absence from the announcement of Waugh’s win. His refusal to stand with the others during the election results announcement flies in the face of his claims of being “straight-talking and straightforward.”

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Galloway showed his blatant disregard and disrespect for the integrity of the electoral process again when he reposted a claim that the election was rigged against him “from the start.” His denial of the process shows his disrespect for the integrity of the electoral process. 

Galloway’s loss is a huge win for Israel. The Jewish Labour Movement chair summed it up perfectly in a statement to the Jewish Chronicle: “This is a tremendous result. Galloway is a one-trick pony, a peddler of vicious hate who never sticks around after winning a by-election to serve the people who elected him. Politics is so much better off without him as an elected representative.”