News Release Senator Wendy Davis Receives Equity Center Champion for Children Award
For Immediate Release July 28, 2011 Contact: Lauren Cook 512/478-7313
(AUSTIN, TX) - Senator Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) was given the Equity Center’s highest honor today, being named a Champion for Children. Dr. Wayne Pierce, Executive Director of the Equity Center, presented the award to Sen. Davis at the Equity Center’s 11th Annual Seminar on School Finance and Legal Issues, where Sen. Davis attended as the keynote speaker. Dr. Pierce described Sen. Davis as a longstanding supporter of public education in Texas. He emphasized that her filibuster of Senate Bill 1811 on the last day of the 82nd Legislative Session was merely the most recent example of how Sen. Davis continually chooses to stand up for Texas children. “Her filibuster sent the strong message that it is wrong to balance the state budget on the backs of Texas schoolchildren,” Pierce said. “And Sen. Davis understands that fair treatment of Texas children and taxpayers must be a priority.” Sen. Davis said she was honored to receive the award, but that her fight is not about accolades. “The goal of the filibuster was to put an increased focus on how these deep budget cuts to public education are going to harm our childrens’ futures and our state’s ability to keep and attract new jobs,” Davis said. “Public education funding should be our highest priority as lawmakers because it is so critical to preparing our children for a competitive workforce and to ensuring our state’s future prosperity.” The Equity Center’s mission is to advocate for our member school districts so they may operate under an equitable and adequate school funding system. A fair school finance system must provide all school districts fair and equal access to the state’s resources, while recognizing real cost differences among students and districts. Our Champion for Children recipients represent individuals who have been our crucial partners as we work toward this mission. Past recipients include Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, and Sen. Robert Nichols.
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