Fully Fund our Future Act: A Commitment to Texas Children
When I was elected to represent my district in Collin County, I didn’t just take a job, I took an oath. I vowed to uphold the Constitution and protect her from threats both foreign and domestic. My faith in our Constitution is whole, which includes Article 7. Section. 1, “make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”
I believe that public education is the cornerstone of our society, an investment in our state’s future, a commitment to our children’s dreams and aspirations, and the bedrock of the Texas Miracle. It seems that Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Dan Parick have turned a blind eye to Article 7. Section 1. Perhaps their judgement has been clouded by donations from two West Texas oil billionaires who are pushing voucher scams on everyday Texas for their own profit.
The Texas Legislature has been fighting against voucher schemes since 1957 when they were introduced as a way for white wealthy kids to leave integrated public schools. Texas said “no” to vouchers then and has rejected vouchers for decades. Now these voucher scams have reared their ugly head again in the 88th legislative session, but our bipartisan coalition is stronger than ever and we will continue to refuse any and all discriminatory scams that take taxpayer money away from our public schools.
Texas ranks 43rd in the nation for per-student funding because our legislature continuously underfunds our schools. Which, after years of political games, has resulted in a $40 billion funding gap. With our state’s historic budget surplus, it is unacceptable that our students continue to suffer from overcrowded classrooms, underpaid and exhausted teachers, entire school buildings closing and a lack of resources for afterschool programs. With Texas being the 8th largest economy in the world and a historic surplus, our state has the capital to fully fund our public schools. Meaning, the real issue is not one of capability, but the lack of political will from our current leadership.
Public education is one of the best investments our state can make and voucher scams redirect those precious tax dollars to unaccountable private corporations who seek to spend taxpayer money without public oversight or scrutiny. Voucher programs are extremely expensive and have led some states like Arizona into financial jeopardy.
Implementing vouchers in Texas is dangerous and outright bad policy for our state.
In the battle over the future of public education in Texas, my commitment to our public schools is unwavering. This is why I am a proud supporter and co-author of the comprehensive, bipartisan Fully Fund our Future Act.
The Fully Fund our Future Act would invest $40 billion into our schools to bring Texas up to the national average in per-student funding while also increasing teacher pay by $15,000, reduce class sizes, hire more school counsellors, close the special education funding gap, and increase school safety and mental health funding. The Fully Fund our
Future Act is not a dream or a far-fetched idea, it’s grounded in the reality that Texas has the funds available to fully fund our neighborhood schools and rather than sitting on the money- we make the smartest investment our state can make. It’s time to INVEST in our kids.
Voucher proponents have tried to pass their agenda under the guise of school finance reform but it will only perpetuate the funding gap ever further. Rather than divesting from our public schools, Fully Fund our Future Act ensures our schools have the resources they need to serve our students. The Fully Fund our Future Act makes a
Texas-sided investment in Texas children to provide all students with the education they deserve -the education they are entitled to by the Texas Constitution. I’m proud to support this legislation and call on my colleagues to fully fund our local schools.
