Things Rick Perry cares about more than Texas kids: Himself, his political future, hair care, also himself

• Texas is #49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation (493) and #46 in average math SAT scores (502).
• Texas is #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%).
• Texas is #33 in the nation in teacher salaries. Teacher salaries in Texas are not keeping pace with the national average. The gains realized from the last state-funded across-the-board pay raise authorized in 1999, which moved the ranking from 33 to as high as 26th in the nation, have disappeared over the last five years.
• Texas was the only state in the nation to cut average per pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2005, resulting in a ranking of #40 nationally; down from #25 in fiscal year 1999.
• Texas is #6 in the nation in student growth. The general student population in Texas public schools grew by 11.1% between school years 1999 and 2005, with the largest percent of growth seen among low income and minority children.
• Between school years 1999 and 2005, the number of central administrators employed by Texas public schools grew by 32.5%, overall staffing in public schools grew by 15.6%, while the number of teachers grew only 13.3%.

So, you know, it’s not like the state needs the money or anything.

Meanwhile, on the “what the state’s students should learn” front, Perry appointed Don McLeroy to head the State Board of Education. McLeroy is the right wing extremist who wants to impose his his social, religious, and political views on Texas kids by falsifying history and science textbooks. McLeroy believes, for example, that the Earth is 6,000 years old because the Bible says so. Scientists (you know, people with all that book learnin’ who draw conclusions based on evidence) say the planet is about 4.6 billion years old. McLeroy also says that drunk 1950s witch-hunting Senator Joe McCarthy — who ruined the lives of hundreds of innocent people — has been “vindicated” by history. Here’s a quick video of some of the things Perry’s pick for SBoE chairman thinks Texas kids ought to learn:

Based on their warped and hopelessly illogical view of what the Constitution says, thousands of Texas Republican primary voters will pause the Lee Greenwood music long enough to bark like hungry sea lions at Perry’s bold decision to deprive Texas schools of millions of tainted Washington dollars. Sure schools — especially those in poor and minority areas — will still be underfunded and kids punished as a result, but at least Perry will have put that illegal alien/socialist/communist/black racist/Nazi/Islamic extremist in his place.

Partisan Gridlock with Geoff Berg airs every Friday from 3:00 – 4:00 pm on KPFT, 90.1 FM in Houston, 89.5 FM in Galveston, and everywhere else at www.kpft.org. Connect through Facebook or at www.partisangridlock.com.