Almost 1,500 TFT members spent a day of their Spring Break in Austin lobbying lawmakers for increased state education aid and to fight any cuts this legislative session. On March 12th, more than 400 school employees braved the rain and rallied on the south steps of the Capitol, where they were addressed by seven legislators. On March 17th, more than 1,000 school employees came to the Capitol to make their voices heard. The crowd was addressed by nearly 20 members of the Texas Legislature. Chanting "No cuts for kids" and waving signs that read "Invest in Education," the public school employees urged lawmakers to pump more money into education. TFT President John Cole said it was gratifying that so many members used their own time to make the trip to Austin. "For many of our members, this is spring break week," Cole said. "However, they feel it is more important to be here in Austin to convince lawmakers how important it is to not cut education spending, to not rollback state quality standards and employee safeguards and benefits, and to make sure the state continues its commitment to fund a good education for our children."