This week, Pastors for Texas Children is celebrating the courageous action of the Texas State Board of Education to veto three of the eight new charter schools which Commissioner of Education Mike Morath approved.  PTC believes that in a time of economic fragility, when resources are scarce, approving the use of public funds for new schools is irresponsible. Although the board took no action on five of these new charter schools, we are grateful for their veto on three of them. Pastors for Texas Children advocated against the approval of Rocketship Charter Schools, which applied to open new schools in the Fort Worth area. The board vetoed Rocketship. We also advocated against the approval of Royal Charter Schools, but the board approved them. The south and central San Antonio community overwhelmingly opposes Royal but, unfortunately, their testimonies went unheard. There is much work to be done in raising public awareness about the cost of too many charter schools. If you want to know more about the privatization efforts behind many charter schools, and how they are a danger to public schools, please join our online “Lunch With Diane Ravitch” on October 21, 10:30 AM. Diane is our nation's premiere advocate for public education-- and watchdog opposing privatization efforts. She will teach us why these efforts are futile, and what we can do to make sure that our children receive the kind of education they deserve, where they are treasured because of their God-given worth, not because of their marketplace value.