Vouchers/Budget up for vote next week
The Texas House Committee on Public Education is close to voting on the school funding and school voucher bills. Help us tell the members that vouchers — by whatever name — divert state tax dollars from our neighborhood public schools to private businesses, and that Texas has a responsibility to adequately fund our public schools.
Texas public schools, where the vast majority of students will continue to be educated, are underfunded. Texas school districts have not received an increase to the per-student Basic Allotment since 2019. With a $20 billion surplus and $23 billion balance in the Rainy Day Fund, as forecast by the state comptroller, the Legislature has no excuse not to increase funding for public schools. But the $220 increase in the basic allotment that the school finance bill would provide is woefully inadequate, and pay raises funded from it also would be inadequate.
School finance experts say the basic allotment, which hasn't been increased since 2019, would need an additional $1,100 or more just to cover inflationary costs for school districts. Average teacher pay in Texas is more than $9,000 less than the national average and this bill would do little to bridge that gap. The most experienced teachers in Texas are paid more than $14,000 less than their peers nationally.
Please help us tell the member of the House Public Education Committee to vote "No" to vouchers and adequately fund our neighborhood public schools!
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Contact the State House,
let them know you don’t support vouchers and why
From Texas Impact: (Recast to reflect the House Bill 3 voucher “ESA” bill.)
The Texas House of Representatives needs to hear from constituents en masse beginning today. Here is a helpful one-pager for new folks. Here is how you can help.
1. Light up their phone lines beginning today using Texas Impact’s toll free numbers to ask representatives to oppose House Bill 3 and all efforts to divert public dollars to private schools. We want thousands of calls going in, so share this number. Find out who represents you here.
2. Ask local clergy to schedule Zoom meetings with your representatives to ask them to support public education and oppose vouchers or education savings accounts.
3. Write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper. This page gives helpful tips.
4. Encourage your social media networks to support public schools and oppose HB3 and other voucher bills.
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