by Andrew Laska of Richardson Echo

The media at the news conference seemed more interested in the Todd Willingham arson and execution issue than education.

Governor Rick Perry chose Berkner High School's STEM Academy in Richardson as a place to make an announcement of his new $160 million science and math education initiative. The program T-STEM (Texas Science Technology, Engineering and Math) was started by Perry and the Texas Legislature in 2005. Perry announced an expansion of that program.

The atmosphere was a bit excited before Perry arrived. On hand were Berkner STEM Academy students, elected officials, officials from Texas Instruments, representatives of National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) of Dallas and the mainstream press.

Some elected officials I spoke to beforehand did not know what the announcement was about, including some in education positions.

Perry spoke on Texas achievements before he laid out his proposal. He noted that Texas was only one of four states to "to close the achievement gap in math." He noted that 8th grade African Americans in Texas tied Massachusetts for first place on the National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics exam.

"By averaging a 272 on the N-A-E-P, these Texas students beat the national average for their demographic by 12 points," Perry said and added, "the most important job attractor is a well-educated workforce that is equipped to meet the demands of a high tech economy."

He then proposed a four point plan to impove and expand STEM education.

He proposed first that the number of T-STEM academies should be doubled from 46 to 92.

Next he proposed a $100 million STEM Challenge Scholarship fund so students will not only seek studies in science, math, engineering or technology but will also stay in the state to study these subjects.

Third, he proposed doubling the number of STEM teachers in the state's "UTeach" program. UTeach is a program intended to get high performing graduates with math and science backgrounds into the teaching field. University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at Arlington, and UNT have UTeach programs in the DFW area. Perry proposing expanding the program to five others in the state.

Lastly, he proposed increasing the Advanced Placement Training program by 50 high schools by 2015.

When asked about the price of these initiatives, Perry responded that the tag was $160 million.

The press in the room with TV cameras rolling had different things on their mind. Almost the entire press conference part of the event was dedicated to the Todd Willingham arson and execution issue. Perry responded to questions that to my knowledge had been asked before and Perry did not seem to change his answers.

However, he did add the nuance that he believed that Craig Beyler, a fire investigator hired by Texas Forensic Science Commission to investigate the fire evidence in the case, was politically motivated to find fault with the case.

Afterward, Perry made a hasty exit with news cameras following. Some people seemed disappointed since they wanted to hear more about STEM education.

"So much for education," one elected official told me.

Others had things to say about the subject at hand.

"The governor’s support for expanding successful programs in the STEM arena, such as AP Strategies and UTeach, is a critical step towards maintaining our global competitiveness," said Tom Luce, CEO of NMSI based in Dallas. The UTeach program is one of the programs implemented by NMSI at fourteen U.S. universities according to NMSI.

Kim Quirk, president of the RISD board of trustees told us that "it's fabulous that we are focused on science and math," and she added, "Some projections have 80% of new jobs in the 21st century dependent on science and math skills."

She called STEM, "one of our board's favorite areas."

The governor said he would work with legislators on these initiatives before the 82nd legislative session.

What do you think?