by Nicole Bradford
Public school districts have stated a need for equal accountability as school vouchers take center stage during the 89th Legislature.
“Public schools can out-compete a lot of private entities if given equal funding for equal number of kids,” Pearland ISD Trustee Dr. Kris Schoeffler said during a board discussion of legislative priorities. “I think a lot of people would be more sanguine with those kinds of proposals if we knew that public schools were on a level playing field.”
Since convening on Jan. 14, Texas lawmakers have named school vouchers, teacher raises, and border security priorities in early state budget drafts. Already, $1 billion is designated for education savings accounts — a plan that uses state funding to pay for private school tuition.
Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina, on Jan. 22, released a statement saying the legislature has failed in its constitutional duty to fund public schools adequately.
“If we’re responsible for the amount of training and testing and everything that the state puts on us, even if we get equal money, if a private school is not responsible for that kind of stuff, they have more funds.”
-Toni Carter
Pearland ISD school board
“The proposed legislative budgets released today set aside $1 billion of our taxes for private school vouchers, while continuing to underfund our public schools, where most Texas children will continue to be educated,” Molina’s statement reads. “Experts say the basic allotment must be increased by at least $1,000 or more per student to simply keep up with inflation, which has been eroding school budgets while Gov. Greg Abbott and Patrick have been promoting tax giveaways for private schools.”
Pearland ISD’s legislative priorities do not expressly oppose vouchers.
“Those are probably going to pass in one form or another,” PISD Superintendent Larry Berger said.
Along with equal funding, Trustee Toni Carter added that public schools also deserve to see equal accountability.
“If we’re responsible for the amount of training and testing and everything that the state puts on us, even if we get equal money, if a private school is not responsible for that kind of stuff, they have more funds,” Carter said. “They’re going to look more attractive.”
