This is not a Republican or Democratic issue at the state board. We are completely united in our request that the Legislature free up money for those books. We are sending them plenty of money. It's not tax revenue.

We've freed up the largest sum ever to cover those expenses.

We're not out to undo years and years of what we've done. But it's incumbent on us to be informed about successful programs.

Apart from that money being constitutionally dedicated to a specific purpose, it has traditionally funded textbooks. But (attorneys tell us) there is some discretion at the Legislative area to do something else with it.

The full funding for this cycle would have been $365 million.

If immigration reform passes, it'll be a big victory for sanity - nobody really believes it's healthy for a country to have millions and millions of undocumented noncitizens living in the shadows. But it'll also be a sign that the Republican Party has gotten tired of letting the Tea Party push it around.