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FOX 44 News presents 'Texas Education: Funding the Future' — Transcript

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0:00Thank you for joining us for an in-depth
0:02look at the future of school funding in
0:04Texas as legislation to create education
0:07savings accounts reaches a critical
0:09point at the Texas state capital. It's a
0:11top priority for Governor Greg Abbott.
0:14The plan would give parents the option
0:15to put taxpayer money toward private
0:18school education. Now, we're bringing
0:20you extended interviews with the
0:22governor and state representative James
0:24Tarico, who is strongly opposed. We'll
0:27also hear from parents on both sides of
0:29the issue. We'll begin with Governor
0:32Abbott. I'm here with Governor Greg
0:34Abbott and parents in support of
0:37education savings accounts. We have
0:39Monica Hes and her 7-year-old son
0:42Kenneth. Shannera Morrison and her
0:4411-year-old son Gavin and Celeste Green
0:47and her seven-year-old daughter Hikah.
0:49Thank you all so much for being with us.
0:50Governor, we're going to begin with you.
0:52You've made it clear that this is the
0:53priority this legislative session,
0:55passing education savings accounts. You
0:58have parents on board with the plan
0:59here. What do you say to parents and
1:01teachers who maybe are not on board? Uh
1:04we've heard from some who were concerned
1:05about what this could mean for public
1:07schools. Well, for one, I'm supporting
1:10school choice because I visited with
1:12parents like this across the entire
1:14state of Texas and they have a hunger
1:16and a need for school choice for the
1:18children. Listen, the the reality is one
1:21size does not fit all when it comes to
1:23education. Uh there are families that
1:25have two or three or four kids and a
1:27public school may be right for one, but
1:29a private school may be right for
1:30another, homeschool may be right for a
1:32third. And no one knows better what's
1:34right for their child than their own
1:36parent. But listen, I I know because of
1:38false information out there, there are a
1:41lot of concerns that either parents or
1:43teachers may have. And let me allay
1:45those concerns real quick. For for one,
1:48people may be concerned, oh gosh, school
1:50choice is going to decimate our public
1:52schools and and destroy them. Nothing
1:55could be further from the truth for two
1:57reasons. One, we are going to fully fund
2:00public schools this session, providing
2:02more funding than ever before and a
2:05higher teacher pay raise than ever in
2:08the history of our state because we want
2:09the best teachers in our classrooms and
2:12our public schools. Second, uh the we're
2:15going to have separate pots of money,
2:18one for public schools, one for school
2:21choice. We're not going to take a single
2:23penny from public schools to pay for
2:26school choice. And the last thing is
2:28this, the size of the program is smaller
2:32than the charter school program in the
2:34state of Texas. Charter schools haven't
2:36destroyed public schools. Neither will
2:39uh school choice. Another way people
2:41should see this and that is more than 30
2:43states in the United States. They
2:45already have school choice and it hasn't
2:47destroyed public schools in those states
2:49and in fact the state with the largest
2:51school choice program in the United
2:53States ranks number one for public
2:55education in the United States. You can
2:58have both great public schools and good
3:01uh school choice. Brings me to my last
3:04point. My real goal here in addition to
3:06helping these parents is to put Texas on
3:08a pathway to being ranked number one for
3:11educating our kids. Governor, I want to
3:14follow up on something you mentioned
3:15there. Two pots of money. Why not just
3:17put the billion dollars into public
3:20schools? Many of them are financially
3:21strapped because we're going to be
3:23putting far more than a billion dollars
3:26into public schools. As I mentioned
3:28earlier, we're going to be fully funding
3:30public schools. We will be providing the
3:32largest increase to public education
3:34than ever before. Per people funding
3:37will be at an all-time high. Teacher pay
3:40will be at an all-time high. So, we will
3:43use all the funds necessary to ensure
3:46that we are fully funding public
3:49education and ensuring that our public
3:51schools will be competitive with private
3:54schools and with home schools. Celeste,
3:56why are you on board with education
3:57savings accounts? Well, um I have five
4:00kids. I am a second generation
4:02homeschooler. Um it all started back
4:06when I was a child in Oregon. We
4:08homeschooled there because um
4:10homeschooling was illegal in Texas at
4:12that time and we've come a long way. Um
4:15when my son was in my oldest son,
4:18Joseph, was in junior high, he
4:20experienced violence and I was a unable
4:24to resolve that. So I had to take him
4:26out of school. I also worked at that
4:28time as a forensic psychologist and I
4:30was unfortunate enough or fortunate
4:33enough to be able to quit my job and
4:35homeschool him. There were no other
4:37school districts to transfer him to and
4:39the local Catholic school didn't have
4:40any openings. So, you know,
4:42homeschooling was the only other option
4:44there. And so, that that was that was
4:46okay. Um, I felt confident homeschooling
4:48my child. You know, I felt confident
4:51with my ability to teach him, you know,
4:53the education savings account would help
4:54us. Shannera, I want to come to you on
4:57the topic of the amount of money.
4:59$10,000 is roughly what it's going to
5:01be, could be if it passes. Is that
5:03enough money, do you think, for what you
5:05would like for your child? Um, as I've
5:08said many times before, anything helps.
5:11Uh whether it's $1 or $50 or $10,000,
5:16anything towards my son's education is
5:20beneficial for me and for him. Governor,
5:23I want to come to you on this question
5:24of equity. The $10,000 might not really
5:27cover tuition at a lot of schools around
5:30the state and there a lot of cities
5:32around the state don't even have private
5:34options. What do you say to those
5:35parents? Well, again, that's a lot of
5:37false information that needs to be
5:39corrected because the fact of the matter
5:40is I' I've researched the issue. Uh, and
5:43most private schools across the state of
5:45Texas, uh, they cost less than $10,000.
5:49That point aside, there are many others
5:51that may cost more than $10,000 and they
5:53would be willing to provide a
5:55scholarship that would make up the
5:56difference. Uh, this is going to provide
5:59unbelievable access, unprecedented
6:01access. There's something else though,
6:03and that is when a program like this is
6:05created, that will lead to the creation
6:08of some new schools that can provide
6:10that opportunity. Another falsehood is,
6:12well, there there's rural regions of the
6:14state of Texas where this simply is not
6:15available. And that's untrue in so many
6:17regions of the state of Texas that are
6:19rural that I've been in. I'll give you
6:21Athens, Texas as one example. I was at a
6:24school there, Athens has a population of
6:25about 11 12,000 people. Uh and yet they
6:29have a private school uh that parents
6:31needed to take their child out of public
6:32school because the child in first grade
6:35was coming home from school repeating
6:37four-letter cuss words. And parents knew
6:39at that time it violated their values
6:41and they wanted to move their child into
6:43a setting that reached his values. And
6:46there was a private school like that
6:48there in Athens, Texas, in Alpine,
6:50Texas, in small little towns across the
6:52state. There are many opportunities for
6:55school choice for parents. You mentioned
6:57the research that goes into building a
6:59massive program like this. What does the
7:01private school community say to you? Are
7:03they ready for this? Are they ready for
7:05the influx? because it is up to them
7:06whether to accept these children or not.
7:09The private school is the private school
7:11community is hungry for this because
7:13they know that they provide uh an
7:15important value to the education
7:18equation. One is because of the of the
7:20type of education they provide. Another
7:23is because different schools meet
7:25different needs of different parents.
7:27You know, one school is again doesn't
7:29matter if it's public or private, one
7:31size is not going to fit all for every
7:33student. But we know there's going to be
7:35schools out there uh that will meet the
7:37needs of of all uh these students. But
7:40there's something else that is very
7:42important here of what we found in other
7:44states that have school choice. And that
7:46is when school choice is entered into
7:49the education equation. It means that
7:51the private schools do better. It means
7:53that the public schools do better
7:55because there's competition involved.
7:57Competition makes everything better,
7:59including education. And that's what we
8:01want. We want the best education product
8:04in the United States. School choice is a
8:06pathway to achieve that excellent
8:08product. Uh many private schools uh are
8:11attached to a church or a religious
8:13organization. Do you worry that this
8:15blurs the line between church and state?
8:17The United States Supreme Court made
8:18clear that it does not. And so there
8:20there's no constitutional issue here
8:22whatsoever. What is at issue here,
8:25however, is that there are some parents,
8:28they want their children to learn more
8:31than just their ABCs. They also want
8:33their children to learn values. Some
8:35parents are able to achieve that by
8:38homeschooling. Other parents are able to
8:40achieve it by finding a school that's
8:42right for the child that will also teach
8:44values. One thing our country needs at
8:46this time, and that is character
8:49development by our children. And
8:52character development can be done
8:53through schools that educate students
8:56about more than just math and science,
8:58but also genuine values that will make
9:00them stronger participants in our
9:02democracy. But what do you say to
9:04parents who feel like public money
9:06shouldn't be subsidizing religious
9:08teachings? So the the fact of the matter
9:11is the Supreme Court has ruled on that
9:13issue. Well, the Supreme Court rule was
9:15it was actually the opposite and that is
9:17to exclude schools because of religion
9:20would be violating the constitution. And
9:23so what we have to do we we have to make
9:25school choice available uh to all
9:28schools out there that are accredited by
9:30the way in order to qualify. But for all
9:33accredited schools in in the state of
9:34Texas uh they will provide an option for
9:37parents to choose the pathway that's
9:39best for them. understanding this very
9:41important point and that is all of these
9:44parents right here they know far better
9:47what their children need than does any
9:50educator any principal any administrator
9:54we put the power of parents first which
9:56by the way when you have engaged parents
10:00that almost always leads to a better
10:02education outcome for children you
10:03campaigned against members of your own
10:05party who opposed this plan in the last
10:07legislative cycle millions of dollars
10:09was spent some of your own time was
10:10spent at these campaign events. Why is
10:13passing this so important to you? Is it
10:15something personal? It is important to
10:19me as governor because one of my goals
10:22uh in addition to the trophies behind
10:24you that show that Texas ranks number
10:25one for economic development for 13
10:27years in a row. I have a responsibility
10:29as governor for Texas to rank number one
10:32for education for 13 years in a row. And
10:35so I I will continue my mission until we
10:38achieve that goal. And then in in
10:40addition to that, I've talked to to
10:43these parents who are with us today.
10:45I've talked to thousands of parents
10:47across the state. Parents are hungry for
10:49this. Uh in ballot initiative after
10:52ballot initiative, voters have said they
10:55want school choice. In Texas, every
10:58demographic group, black, white,
11:01Hispanic, Asian, urban, suburban, rural,
11:05doesn't matter who you are, where you
11:07are in the state of Texas. Majorities of
11:09Texans want school choice. It's time for
11:12school choice to pass in Texas. We've
11:15only got a couple of minutes left here.
11:17Governor, you mentioned the voters want
11:18this. Why not just put the creation of
11:21the program itself up to voters? That's
11:23the way California is run. They have
11:26ballot initiatives on so many laws,
11:28hundreds of laws. Let me tell you
11:30something. One thing I will achieve as
11:32governor is to make sure Texas never
11:34becomes California. Monica, I'll give
11:36you the last word here. Uh for those
11:39still unconvinced and those who feel
11:40like maybe this isn't the best thing for
11:42the states, it's not the best thing for
11:44our public schools, what do you say? I
11:46would say consider that every family
11:49just like those of us up here in the
11:51state of Texas deserves to have the
11:53right to choose what's best for their
11:56child and their family. And we
11:59appreciate the governor helping us to
12:00achieve that. Okay. Uh governor, any any
12:02parting words on the topic for those who
12:04are unsold?
12:07People try to cast school choice as
12:10choosing either school choice or
12:12supporting public schools. That's a
12:14false choice. We're doing more this
12:16session than ever to support our public
12:18schools with more pay for teachers, with
12:21more funding for schools, as well as
12:23creating a school choice program for
12:25parents who have found that their local
12:28public school, for whatever reason, just
12:30does not work for their child. We're
12:31going to empower those parents. We're
12:33going to empower our public teachers.
12:35And we are going to put Texas on a
12:37pathway to being ranked number one in
12:39the United States for educating our
12:41children. All right, Monica Hes,
12:44Shannara Morrison, and Celestea Green,
12:46thank you so much for joining us.
12:47Governor Abbott, thank you so much for
12:48your time.
12:51Welcome back to our in-depth look at the
12:53future of school funding in Texas. After
12:55hearing first from Governor Greg Abbott,
12:57State Representative James Telerico now
12:59tells his side. We are joined by Texas
13:02State Representative James Telerico,
13:04Democrat from House District 50. We also
13:06have Brie Rolf, who works for a public
13:08school district and is also a former
13:10high school educator. Also joined by
13:12Alicia Markham, a trustee on a public
13:14school board, but also the parent of two
13:17children, an elementary school student
13:19and a middle school student. And we also
13:21have with us Linda Ramirez, who has two
13:23young students as well, and Yasmin
13:24Anderson, the parents of an eighth
13:26grader. Thank you so much all for
13:27joining us. Mr. Terico, we're going to
13:29begin with you. Representative, we heard
13:31from a group of parents who really like
13:33the idea of getting some help to provide
13:36their child the type of education that
13:38they feel is best for them. Can you
13:40explain your opposition to education
13:42savings accounts? Why not let parents
13:44just choose? Well, private school
13:46vouchers are a scam that will take our
13:49tax dollars out of our underfunded
13:51public schools and give those tax
13:53dollars to unaccountable private schools
13:55that primarily serve the wealthy few.
13:57Greg Abbott is calling this school
13:59choice, which sounds great. I think all
14:01of us are for school choice, but this is
14:03not school choice. It's the school's
14:05choice because private schools can deny
14:08admission to any kid for any reason they
14:11want. So, how is it choice when the
14:14private school has all the power? How is
14:16it choice when a majority of counties in
14:19the state of Texas don't have a single
14:21private school in them? How is it choice
14:24when private schools don't have to
14:25provide special education services or
14:27transportation? And how is it choice
14:30when the voucher doesn't even cover the
14:32full cost of tuition at most private
14:34schools in Texas? So, you know, I used
14:36to be a a middle school teacher before I
14:38ran for office. I taught on the west
14:40side of San Antonio, which is one of the
14:41poorest zip codes in our state. If you
14:43gave my former students on the west side
14:45of San Antonio a $10,000 voucher,
14:48there's still no way they could afford a
14:50$20,000 a year tuition bill. But here's
14:53the catch. That wealthy family that is
14:55already sending their kid to a $20,000 a
14:58year private school, they're eligible
15:00for this program, too. And so, they're
15:02going to get a discount, a $10,000
15:04discount at our expense. That's why I
15:06call Vouchers Welfare for the Wealthy.
15:08And that's why I'm encouraging all
15:10Texans to call their representatives and
15:12tell them to reject this scam and fully
15:14fund our public schools. Proponents say
15:16that this isn't really taking money from
15:18public schools. They say, "Well, the
15:19governor has described it as two pots."
15:22I would imagine you don't agree with
15:23that. I Yeah, I don't know what the
15:25governor is talking about. This is all
15:26from general revenue, which is all
15:28taxpayer funds. It's all coming from the
15:29same pot of money. And I I have
15:32confirmed with the author of the bill
15:34that the $1 billion that we're putting
15:37toward private school tuition for
15:39wealthy families could be going to our
15:41underfunded neighborhood schools. And I
15:43just think that's an unconscionable,
15:45immoral decision when our schools are
15:47struggling to stay open as we speak.
15:49Yasmin, explain your opposition to
15:51education savings accounts. Um my
15:54daughter is in 8th grade. Um
15:57and because of public school and um her
16:02access to special education services
16:05since second grade, she is thriving. Um
16:10her IEP
16:12outlines the way she learns and the
16:14accommodations that are needed to ensure
16:17her success. And without that document
16:21and without the supports of special
16:23education, she wouldn't be where she is
16:26today. And dare I say, she would not
16:28like school. And this would then lead
16:31her
16:33to stop going, push back, all of the
16:36things you see when students don't get
16:39what they need in a learning
16:40environment. It's that schoolto prison
16:43pipeline. So by taking this money
16:46taxpayer dollars and funneling it to the
16:50wealthy instead of giving all Texans the
16:55right to
16:56education. It's completely absurd and
16:59wrong in my view. Alicia, you have dual
17:02roles as a schoolboard member, also as a
17:05parent. What are your views? So um I
17:08have two children who receive special
17:09education services. My oldest child is
17:12in seventh grade. Um, and he has
17:14received services from the time he could
17:15be in early childhood special education
17:17at three years old. Um, when it was time
17:19for him to enter
17:21kindergarten, I was a young mom, new to
17:24navigating the school system. He was my
17:25first child. And so, I wanted to make
17:27sure that I looked at every option for
17:29him to make sure he was going to be set
17:31up for success. So, of course, I looked
17:32at our neighborhood public school, but I
17:34also went out and looked at charter
17:36schools and private schools. Um, and I
17:38only looked at schools that promoted
17:40themselves as accepting children with
17:43disabilities. So, some of the things
17:45that I some of the responses I heard
17:46back from those schools um ranged from,
17:50we don't have the resources to support
17:52your child. Um, we want our students to
17:55have potential in something, implying my
17:57child had no potential in anything.
18:00um the charter school that we actually
18:02through the lottery won a seat in
18:05brought in a regional director to
18:07convince us not to send our child there
18:09and ended up telling us that if we chose
18:12to send him there they would teach him
18:14in a room by himself. Um I know
18:16firsthand that these schools do choose
18:18who they want to attend. Um my child was
18:22rejected from every school that said
18:24they potentially would accept a child
18:26like him. Um, I also heard responses of,
18:29you know, we do take children with
18:30disabilities, but not children like your
18:32son. Um, so then that begs the question,
18:34well, what kind of child do you take?
18:36Um, so I'm opposed because I I know
18:39firsthand that these these schools don't
18:40take um children like my son and most
18:44children who receive services. They
18:45don't have the resources and they're not
18:48going to go out and get them. My child
18:50has thrived in public school. Both of my
18:53children have thrived in public school.
18:55Um, my older son is entering his teenage
18:58years and even in a challenging time
19:01with a disability and entering teenage
19:03years. Um, his campus and our district
19:06has gone to great lengths to make sure
19:08he has all the resources he needs to
19:10still be on a successful path. So, I
19:12know public schools work. They have the
19:14resources.
19:16um the money that could be funding our
19:20public
19:21schools. We're asking to subsidize
19:24private tuition with school with money
19:27that could be going into our public
19:28schools. So the reality is we have
19:30school choice in Texas. It already
19:33exists. But what we're asking is do we
19:35want to do we want the taxpayers to
19:37subsidize private tuition for private
19:40schools that a majority of them are
19:42never going to be able to access?
19:45Representative Telerico, I wanted to ask
19:46you, you've spoken about your Christian
19:48faith. Uh, many of these schools are
19:50going to be religious, so these private
19:53schools. What do you say to the parents
19:55who would like to send their child to a
19:57school that aligns with their faith?
19:59Well, no one stopping them from sending
20:02their kid to a private school. We
20:03already have school choice in Texas. Not
20:05only can a parent choose to send their
20:07child to a private school, they can also
20:09choose a public charter school or an
20:11early college high school or a magnet
20:13school or an academy or a career and
20:15technical school in addition to their
20:16neighborhood school. So, we want options
20:18for parents. The question here is where
20:20should our taxpayer dollars go? And we
20:22shouldn't send our taxpayer dollars to
20:24schools that aren't accountable to the
20:26taxpayers. Private schools don't have to
20:28follow the same rules. They don't have
20:29to accept the same students. They don't
20:31have to take the same test. And that's a
20:33problem for me as a lawmaker. Um,
20:35taxpayers of all kinds pay for our
20:37schools and there needs to be
20:38transparency and accountability for
20:40those taxpayer funds. Bri, I want to ask
20:42you uh your view as a former teacher.
20:46So, my current role, I serve students
20:50experiencing homelessness and in foster
20:52care. And my biggest opposition is my
20:56students that I serve now will never
20:58benefit from this bill. And you know,
21:02people keep saying parent choice, parent
21:04choice. And that's great. Parents have
21:06choices already, but what about the
21:08students whose parents can't make
21:10choices for them or who don't even have
21:13enough money to put food on the table?
21:15And in our public schools, I currently
21:18work out of a wonderful middle school
21:21where we work with social workers and
21:25support staff. And one of the things
21:27that when you take money from public
21:31schools, we lose all of our wraparound
21:34services and support for our most
21:36vulnerable students. And I've been a
21:40public educator in Texas for 17 years.
21:43I've worked in two different districts.
21:45And I have seen how public schools can
21:48be a place of magic and transformation
21:51for the most vulnerable students. And I
21:53have had the gift of watching that
21:56transformation. And most Texans do not
22:00want this bill bipartisan. There are
22:03people on both sides that don't want it.
22:05And if you fully fund our public
22:09schools, we can do great things. And we
22:13haven't had a basic aotment increase
22:16since 2019. This budget surplus is them
22:21taking money from our public schools and
22:24they need to put it back into the
22:26communities so we can have community
22:27schools that thrive and become places
22:31that are safe and nourishing for our
22:34students. Linda, I've seen you nodding
22:36your head. Where does your opposition to
22:38education savings accounts come from? So
22:41I'm not from US. So basically the
22:44country I'm from that we only fund
22:46public school. So this is really weird
22:50things for me first thing and then the
22:52second thing is because my my kids are
22:54in public school they also need special
22:57ed support. So once and then my school
23:01district is like majority of kids are
23:03from title one. So they need all the
23:05resource they can get and then but
23:07however they the our school's
23:09superintendent just announced that we
23:11are on 13 million deficit on the
23:14financial budget. So when every school
23:18district don't have enough money and
23:21then we are still funding private
23:23school, I don't know the math. It's not
23:27working for me at all. Representative,
23:30the governor mentioned that he feels
23:32competition makes everything better in
23:34terms of public school and private
23:36school. Your response to that? I like
23:38competition, but only when it's fair.
23:40Private schools don't have to follow the
23:41same rules, don't have to take the same
23:43tests, don't have to accept the same
23:44students. It's like a football game
23:46where one team has unlimited timeouts
23:49and 12 guys on the field. So, we can
23:51have competition, but it's got to be a
23:53level playing field. I do want to pick
23:56up on what what was already mentioned.
23:57There is bipartisan opposition to this
24:00voucher scam. Republicans and Democrats
24:02oppose this scam. The only people who
24:04are for it is Greg Abbott and his
24:07billionaire mega donors. Jeff Yas, an
24:09outofstate billionaire, gave Greg Abbott
24:11$12 million last year to pass this scam.
24:14so that they can privatize our schools
24:16and make money off of our kids. So,
24:19we've all got to come together,
24:20regardless of our political party,
24:22regardless of our region, um regardless
24:24of our background to reject this
24:26billionaire scam and fully fund our
24:28neighborhood schools. We're running out
24:30of time here. Representative Telerico,
24:32I'll leave the last word to you. What
24:34would you say to those still on the
24:36fence, still undecided? How would you
24:38persuade them? Don't take our word for
24:40it. Go look at the other states that
24:42have tried these private school voucher
24:43scams. They tried it in Arizona and it
24:46blew a giant hole in their state budget.
24:48It grew in cost year after year and it
24:51bankrupted their public education
24:53budget. They did it in Florida and 70%
24:55of the users were wealthier families who
24:58already had their kids in private
24:59school. They did it in Indiana and the
25:01private schools just raised their
25:02tuition and profited off the taxpayers.
25:05So, we don't want this scam in Texas.
25:07This is going to be on the House floor
25:09on Wednesday. We need Texans to show up.
25:11We need Texans to call their state reps
25:13and their state senators and their
25:14governor and tell them to reject this
25:16scam and fully fund our neighborhood
25:18schools. All right. Thank you very much
25:20to all of you. Thank you. Thank you. And
25:23you saw it right here, folks. Both sides
25:25of the school choice uh things going on
25:28at the capital right now. We will
25:30continue to follow the story and give
25:32you the latest when we get it. Also
25:34speaking of something we just got, you
25:36know that Inz Russell, who's the
25:38executive director of Friends for Life,
25:41who is the Central Texas Remarkable
25:43Woman of the Year, she just sent me a
25:44photo saying she won of one of the five
25:47regional remarkable women of the year
25:50awards. So that picture is on our
25:52Facebook page, the Fox 44 Facebook page
25:54right now. Be sure to go in and give her
25:57some congratulations for that. Once
25:58again, our Central Texas remarkable
26:00woman of the year, Inz Russell, is one
26:02of the five regional winners that out in
26:04Los Angeles going on right now. And as
26:07Mike La Point, chief meteorologist Mike
26:09La Point said, look for some cooler
26:11temperatures tomorrow. Reached up to
26:12almost 90 today, probably right around
26:1480 tomorrow. Meanwhile, be sure to tune
26:17in to
26:18fox44news.com. That's where it's at.
26:20Have a good night, everybody.
26:23[Music]

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