Texas Legislature passes public school funding
Texas public schools are about to get a long-awaited funding boost, with an $8.5 billion school finance bill awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott's signature.
Why it matters: Public school funding has been a priority during the legislative session that ends Monday.
The legislation increases teacher pay and per-student funding, but some public school advocates say it isn't enough to get districts out of multimillion-dollar deficits and rough waters ahead.
Context: The last time Texas increased the basic allotment, or base funding per student, was 2019. Advocates have said the state would have needed to grow it by more than $1,300 per student since then to keep pace with inflation.
The big picture: In the meantime, Texas districts have closed campuses to make ends meet. Districts have also faced teacher shortages and falling school performance ratings.
The future of federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education is uncertain under the Trump administration.
Flashback: In 2023, Abbott said he wouldn't touch a school funding bill until lawmakers created a private school voucher program. They didn't and school funding remained stagnant.
This month, Abbott signed a $1 billion voucher program into law — participating families would get roughly $10,000 per child in taxpayer money for private school tuition — so he is expected to sign the school funding bill.
Catch up quick: The final version of House Bill 2 is a compromise between the Texas House and Senate. The House, led in part by Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), initially passed a bill to increase per-student funding by $395.
The compromise bill raises per-student funding by $55 instead.
How it works: District officials say the basic allotment is what gives them the most flexibility to address their particular needs.
The final version of the bill focuses on educator pay, which accounts for more than $4 billion of the spending in it.
What they're saying:"This is not going to come anywhere close to curbing the three-quarters, 75%-plus, of the districts that are operating a deficit budget," John Craft, superintendent of Northside ISD, San Antonio's largest district, told school board members Tuesday.
"You don't see me doing back flips right now. This is not to say that the increase in the much-needed teacher compensation piece is not appreciated."
Northside ISD adopted a budget with a deficit of $93.7 million this year.
The other side: The Texas American Federation of Teachers union supported the compromise bill, "which makes significant investments in educators and support staff while hopefully also keeping the lights on for another two years in our public school classrooms," Zeph Capo, Texas AFT president, said in a statement.
"This legislation provides the largest teacher pay raise in history, targeted funding for our special education students, investments in early childhood learning and additional funding for our schools to address the rising fixed costs of operation," House Public Education Committee chair Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Salado) said in a statement.
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