This past Tuesday dealt another haymaker to public education's fight against school vouchers in Texas. When all the votes were tallied in the state's runoff elections for the Texas House, it was all but confirmed that Gov. Greg Abbott will now have the votes he needs to impose his version of "school choice" on Texas public school districts.
Abbott is the epitome of the typical politician: he tends to push in whatever direction the wind is blowing. And boy, is there a lot of hot air blowing behind his push for vouchers. Most of that air is coming from a handful of select Republican billionaire donors, many of whom are from out of state and couldn't care less about Texas public school students, much less Texas itself.
As a public school advocate, I stand with the millions of students, staff and families in this state who just wish our state government would do as it is required to do within our state constitution, which is provide a free public education to all students.
As much as the governor and his cronies blabber on about it, you'd think our governor would take it upon himself to actually improve our public schools by investing in them. This alone might improve Texas' ranking as one of the most underfunded school systems in the country.
Regardless of which side of the fence you stand on this issue or your opinion of Gov. Greg Abbott, however, there is a reality we must all face. School vouchers are coming to Texas. Whether or not it is in the next legislative session next year, which is highly likely given the governor's successes at the ballot box this spring, there are changes coming down the line, and quickly.
What is a school voucher? Basically, it is the proposal to take public school tax dollars, which we all pay, and allow those funds to be used for students who wish to attend private school, or be homeschooled. In effect, those families will be allowed to keep that money to themselves and use as they see fit in regards to their child's education.
It all sounds great and, to be honest, not necessarily a bad thing on the surface. But today, very few things can be trusted on the surface. The basic problem with it is that it will take money away from the public school system, which is funded solely through the use of tax dollars -- be it local property taxes, state and federal subsidies. And as mentioned above, Texas schools are already embarrasingly underfunded per student by the state on a national level.
Never mind the fact that there is currently no system in place to hold private schools accountable academically in the manner in which every public school is currently scrutinized. I would imagine that even if there were, private schools would not want to be held to any standards set by the state, or agree to any type of state control or oversight. That would, by definition, make them not private.
Abbott held public school funding hostage throughout the last legislative session in his push for vouchers by promising to include increased funding for local school districts, even with a school choice program in place.
So where is that extra money coming from, governor? The only way the government can make money is by raising taxes, so if you take away potentially millions from schools, how are you going to not only replace it but give more? Sounds like another rush of hot air to me.
But politics and opinions aside, one thing is for certain -- Texas public school districts will be open, and will be required to serve the students who "choose" to attend them, no matter how much money is available. And that is where the next challenge lies.
I also must say that I have nothing against good, private schools, or homeschooling. I do believe that every parent should have the right to choose where their child receives an education -- which is why I said "school choice" sounds so kumbaya. I have many good friends who already choose to homeschool, or send their child to a private school, or work in a private school.
But the difference there is that word "choice." We already have it. I can take my children and place them in a nice, private, Christian school right now if I wanted. It would require a financial commitment, sure; but there's nothing on the books that says I can't do it.
So to say that Texans don't already have school choice is wrong. But the term today in many political circles has nothing to do with actual choice. It has everything to do with choking out the public school system, period, for a variety of sad, often sinister reasons.
My advice these days to my public school clients is to start focusing on things you can control as a school district. Having worked in a similar type challenge in college athletics, with the comparison being the recruiting of student-athletes without the benefit of athletic scholarships in NCAA Division III as opposed to full scholarships available at other levels, the emphasis must be on standing out from the crowd.
Those calling cards were either things like top-notch, upper-division type athletic facilities, or emphasis and success in extra-curricular programs such as fine arts, or specific academic programs that appeal to the students you are targeting.
Simply put, public schools in Texas must begin to find niches in each local system that make them attractive to their students, whether that be top-notch athletic programs, band, choir and theatre programs, UIL academic successes, opportunities through FFA, CTE, and other trade-oriented programs, and many others.
What do the students in your community need to thrive? What are their interests? What best prepares them for college or the workplace? Whatever that is, invest whatever money is left into that. We all must work to make our local school districts as competitive and inviting a place as anywhere else in the state -- regardless of the lack of support from those in state government. The public school system is a foundational bedrock of any local community, regardless of the size of population.
We can sit around and cry about what is going on in Austin, and those who are making it go. Or, we can begin to prepare for the fast approaching day when the challenge becomes reality. If you wait until that day, it will most likely be too late. Start preparing your district and your community now.
Hold politicians accountable for their words and actions. If Greg Abbott gets his vouchers, then hold him accountable for his promises to fully fund public education as well.
Drop the incessant testing requirements and let talented teachers actually teach students again.
Pay teachers a salary and fund their work in a way that identifies them as important as you like to say they are during campaign season.
Make it easier for districts to market themselves and create local funding and investment by removing ridiculous requirements that confuse and inflame our stakeholders, i.e., the idiotic "This is a tax increase" statement required on ballots for bond elections -- when there is literally zero tax increase at all.
When he gets his vouchers, then take him up on his offer to negotiate these and other issues that will allow public schools to actually compete for those dollars.
As it stands now, public schools and those who have dedicated their lives to educating students in them have been tasked with fighting an increasingly impossible, no-win battle. All we ask is that we be given the appropriate tools for a fighting chance.
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