Texas Teachers Association Calls for More Investment in Schools from Government Surplus

This is not the first attempt to secure enrollment-based funding for Texas schools.

Austin, Texas. Educators are watching the events of the 88th Texas Legislative Session with caution and optimism as bills relating to public education have been filed and may take some of the burden off their careers.

Among them are the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), the largest teachers’ union in Texas and an affiliate of the state’s National Education Association. TSTA President Ovidia Molina said she wants the state to divert part of its multibillion-dollar budget surplus to fund public education.

For this regular legislative session, the state has a bonus surplus of $32.7 billion.

“We need to make sure that our students have different programs that will help them in the arts, help them see themselves in the world,” Molina said. “But we can’t do that when we’re worried about how we’re going to pay our teachers, how we’re going to pay for our buses, how we’re going to make sure the lights are on.”

Public education is already the focus of several proposed bills. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa filed House Joint Resolution 69 calling for higher teachers’ salaries. The state representative also filed House Bill 31, which would require schools to be funded based on the average number of students enrolled during the school year. Schools are currently funded on the basis of average daily attendance. HB 31 will protect counties from losing money when students miss school.

An identical bill, Senate Bill 263, was filed by State Senator Nathan Johnson of Dallas.

Molina told KVUE that funding based on student average daily attendance is causing domino problems within districts.

“Just because a handful or more students don’t show up, we lose that money,” Molina said. “But we still have to pay the bills for this school district.”

This is not the first attempt to secure enrollment-based funding for Texas schools. Two bills filed in the 87th Texas Legislative Session in 2021, HB 1246 and SB 728, received bipartisan support from legislators and educators across the state, but neither bill was considered or made it to the House of Representatives.

Schools in Texas currently earn $6,160 per student, which is in line with the average daily attendance rate. That’s over $4,000 less than the national average per student, according to a study by Education Week.

Johnson also filed SB 88, which increased the appropriation to $7,075.

Molina said that in addition to the issue of public education funding, there is ongoing talk about schools and curricula, especially after the controversy over library books and in-class discussions about race and sexuality.

Houston State Representative Steve Toth introduced HB 631, a bill aimed at banning discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools through fifth grade. This reflects Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, which states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties about sexual orientation or gender identity may not be provided in kindergarten through third grade or in an age-inappropriate manner.” or corresponding to the level of development of students in accordance with state standards.

Molina said she expects bipartisan support for education. However, she said she hopes to speak with lawmakers so they can see and feel the concerns of Texas educators.

“What we really hope for during this session is that because of the excess that we have, they are really supportive of our students and our faculty,” Molina said.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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