Texas public education leaders want legislators to fully fund their schools – so they can pay for teacher raises, safety upgrades and tools to combat learning loss – rather than invest in any voucher-like programs.
This plea from superintendents and school trustees comes ahead of an expected special session focused on education funding.
“We are in a position of no compromise,” Whitehouse ISD Superintendent Christopher Moran said. “We’re not interested in compromising for vouchers to gain school funding. This is a hill that we’re willing to die on.”
Top state leaders are pushing for a program that would allow public funds to go toward private school tuition.
Public schools’ needs became intertwined with private schools during the regular legislative session when proposals to boost teacher pay and funnel more money to public education died alongside some Republicans’ priority school choice plan.
At a Friday morning news conference, superintendents and trustees from across the state presented a united front. They said it’s imperative the state properly fund the campuses that educate the majority of Texas’ more than 5 million students.
Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed earlier this month that he’ll call a special session on school choice in October. He said if House lawmakers bat down his favored policy he’ll call yet another special session.
“And if we don’t win that time, I think it’s time to send this to the voters themselves to vote in the primary,” the Republican governor said in a recent tele-town hall with Christian clergy.
A coalition of rural Republicans and urban Democrats in the House have long had the collective strength to vote down such proposals. They did so during the regular legislative session, denying the Senate’s push to give families about $8,000 in educaton savings accounts hat they could use on private school tuition or other expenses.
Abbott and other proponents say voucher-like programs are critical to ensuring that families can decide the best educational settings for their children. The governor has expended tremendous political capital on the push, traveling around the state to promote the idea at Christian private schools.
Critics – such as the school leaders gathered Friday – said private schools are unaccountable and don’t have to accept every student. They’re concerned such a plan would take money out of public schools.
They argued that the state has failed to adequately fund public campuses, despite access to a record surplus. In the meantime, campuses weathered the pandemic, teacher shortages, inflation and safety fears in the wake of the Uvalde massacre.
The base amount of money allocated per-student has not increased since 2019. Many districts recently passed deficit budgets.
“That is not sustainable. There’s only so much in a savings account,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said. “What does that do? It means we can’t keep up with salaries. It means we can’t lure our finest educators to the table. Which means – who suffers? We’re back to the 5.4 million children in the state of Texas.”
The DISD board of trustees on Thursday night approved a resolution calling on the Legislature to increase that basic allotment and reject the “diversion of taxpayer dollars to private entities.”
Elizalde said she would not support even a small voucher program. In several other states, lawmakers passed limited plans only to have them expand in subsequent years.
“We saw it misused and abused,” she said.
Dallas-area Democrats are already committing to stand firm against any renewed push for education savings accounts or other similar initiatives.
“I will always vote against anything that would compromise our public education system,” Rep. Jessica González, D-Dallas, said at a town hall this week.
