<p>Barrons, Texans stole that particular line from Georgians. Also seen on an Atlanta bumper sticker; “If you love New York, then take I-85 North!”</p>
<p>Why do Texians want to dress like Santa Anna’s army? 
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<p>Actually, the Allen-Carroll football game should be really good!</p>
<p>It’s probably the same way in every state although I’m not sure…the public can vote for bond packages to fund permanent improvements, but can’t use bond money to pay teachers…the state pretty much determines how much you have for that. So a district could have the best stadium and performing arts facilities in the country, but not have the money to pay the coaches and fine arts teachers.</p>
<p>What is wild about Allen is that when a client wanted to buy land up there in the mid-90s, I had to look on a map to see where it was. Talk about exponential growth!</p>
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<p>Ah–mutual distain. See Barron’s post. </p>
<p>Question. Then why George W., not once but TWICE?</p>
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<p><a href=“http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/06/migration[/url]”>http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/06/migration</a></p>
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<p>Mainelonghorn–look at the participation rate. Illinois is #1 but has a 5% participation rate. Maine and Texas have much greater participation rates. Maine’s rate is over 90%. In fact, look at #40 and lower. They all have high participation rates. For instance, Pennsylvania (#40) has a 73% rate.</p>
<p>Clearly, Illinois doesn’t care how Texas encourages taking the SAT.</p>
<p>Ya’ll (just thought I’d throw that in for you non-Texans), this my d’s school. The stadium and the PAC are fabulous. Missypie is correct in how the bond money was raised in order to build the stadium and correct in how it can be used. Allen ISD didn’t build this monument to the god of football from money it could have used for teachers, etc. I am not a football fan (in the minority here obviously) but I will say that my child’s education has not been comprised because of the love of football. She has been in this ISD since Kindergarten and has received an excellent public school education.</p>
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<p>Non-Texan here, who loves Texas and how they do it.</p>
<p>Every high school student in Texas can have one voucher to take SAT or ACT for free.</p>
<p>Not sure where you heard that but we were never offered a free test voucher!</p>
<p>07DAD, that’s a good point you make about participation rates. Maine requires its juniors to take the SAT as its standardized test for 11th graders (the kids also take an additional exam in science). That makes me feel better about its ranking!</p>
<p>I was SO happy when I realized the school district we moved into 15 years ago here in Maine did not have football at all! Since then, they’ve added the sport, but it doesn’t have the exalted status it does in Texas. My high school team outside of Austin was the one the makers of the movie, “Friday Night Lights,” followed for a season before shooting began. I didn’t know that when I went to see the movie. As I watched it, I thought, “Wow, these guys really ‘got it.’” Then the credits included the names of my high school and the coach, so it all made sense.</p>
<p>Oh, Drew Brees is an alumni of my HS.</p>
<p>@jokahugo-Ask your GC for it. My older son received a voucher from his GC.</p>
<p>[State</a> paying for all high school juniors to take college entrance exams](<a href=“http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/state-paying-for-all-high-school-juniors-to-565786.html]State”>http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/state-paying-for-all-high-school-juniors-to-565786.html)</p>
<p>It’s not really disdain - it’s just indifference and amusement, because Texas seems to take itself really, really, seriously and is a legend in its own mind! Don’t get me wrong – people are people everywhere, but whenever I’ve gone to Texas, I’ve just had this sense that they think the rest of the country spends a lot of time admiring all things Texas.</p>
<p>Illinois requires all hs juniors (college bound or not) to take the ACT, so there is little reason for an Illinois student to take the SAT unless he thinks he’ll do better on that particular test. </p>
<p>And “Friday Night Lights” kind of epitomizes all the negative stereotypes, wrapped into one! It’s really unbelievable to those of us elsewhere that you guys fuss so much about hs football.</p>
<p>serenade, I’ll have my D look into although I don’t think she will take the SAT again (and,of course, I just paid for SAT subject tests earlier this week).</p>
<p>Tale of two Allen High Schools. There is an Allen High School in Allentown PA that has suffered the reduction of over 100 teaching positions because of state budget cuts and where all of the students qualify for free lunches because the eligible percentage was so high it was not worth the paperwork.</p>
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<p>What I find unbelievable is that folks elsewhere who don’t care what we do down here in Texas seem to know so much about what they think we do down here in Texas. Usually when something doesn’t matter to me, I don’t spend much thought on it.</p>
<p>Like the new TV offering of Dallas. That thing got renewed in a flash. Seems there must be some closet viewers from those elsewhere folks who want to see what Texans are fussing about even if it is fiction, ya’ll.</p>
<p>Article today in the WSJ about Carthage, Texas and their new megascreen football scoreboard. They claim it’s the largest high school scoreboard. Hey- Texas DOES do everything bigger and better!</p>
<p>Well, actually, 07DAD, I only saw the “Friday Night Lights” movie; I caught bits and pieces of one episode of the TV show, mostly because a friend-of-a-friend was involved with it, but I haven’t really made a practice of watching it. </p>
<p>I hear it was a good show (well-acted, critical acclaim) and that it was pretty realistic, so I guess I’m drawing my perception of what it’s like based off things that are said to be pretty realistic - such as a show known for being realistic and, well, an article about a $60MM hs football stadium.</p>
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<p>LOL, the only way I know that the Allen HS marching band is supposedly the largest in the country is from a photospread in the New York Times Magazine.</p>
<p>missypie–you did see the pic in the *Dallas Morning News *where W showed up and gave a pep talk to the SMU football team, right?</p>
<p>MOWC–Carthage, TX??? Did you see the movie Bernie? It was filmed in and around Carthage and used the locals for a lot of dialogue scenes.</p>
<p>If anyone wants to know what small town Texas is like watch *Bernie *and the Last Picture Show.</p>