A significant chunk of Texas2036.org, the online hub of a new non-partisan nonprofit that hopes to use data and research to drive long-range planning and policy for Texans, is a series of “red flags.” For instance, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, population growth in Texas has been forecasted to increase 40 percent by 2036, meaning Texas would need to add 4.5 to 7.8 million new jobs by 2036 to maintain current employment rates. “You can’t do that unless you have an educated workforce,” says Tom Luce, Texas 2036’s founder, who served as a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development during the George W. Bush administration. “And you cannot escape the inevitable fact that public education will drive the economic future of our state.”
