AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today announced that former Texas State Representative Kent Grusendorf has joined the Foundation as Senior Fellow for Education. He will lead the Foundation’s efforts to bring the benefits of real education reform to Texas children, parents, and taxpayers.
“We are delighted to welcome Kent Grusendorf to the TPPF family,” said Foundation President and CEO Brooke Rollins, “His presence brings a record of strong leadership in the promotion of school choice in Texas. It was one of our foundational issues 25 years ago, and it remains a compelling and urgent cause today.”
“I look forward to working with TPPF and advancing an agenda of educational excellence and freedom,” said Grusendorf. “Texas is a leader on many fronts and we must make sure we lead on education as well. Education is the most important issue facing our state and after three decades of school finance litigation, Texas must now refocus on its explicit constitutional mandate of efficiency. As the Texas Supreme Court has repeatedly stated, efficiency means ‘productive of results with little waste.’ For the sake of our future, every Texas student must start receiving the full benefit of this constitutional mandate.”
Grusendorf spent most of his professional life in Arlington, Texas, as a businessman and successful entrepreneur. He represented Arlington for twenty years in the Texas legislature where his primary interest and focus was education. In his freshman term, due to his prior service on the State Board of Education, he was a leader on education issues. Through his appointments, by three governors and three House Speakers, to the House Public Education Committee and various Select Committees, he played a significant role in crafting legislative responses to the Edgewood I, Edgewood II, Edgewood III, Edgewood IV, and West Orange Cove school-finance court decisions.
On the national level, Grusendorf was first appointed to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) by Texas Governor Bill Clements, reappointed to the SREB by Governors Bush and Perry, and also served on the SREB’s Executive Committee. Grusendorf also served a term as Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Education Task Force. During his last two terms in the Texas legislature he served and chairman of the House Public Education Committee. During his tenure in the Texas legislature he carried education accountability/improvement initiatives for four governors: Clements, Richards, Bush, and Perry.
To arrange an interview with Kent Grusendorf, please contact Kristen Indriago at [email protected] or 512.472.2700.
Kent Grusendorf is a Senior Fellow focusing on Education Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com
Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation
Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF
-30-
“