Latest news with #HB2
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas sends $8.5 billion school funding bill to Gov. Abbott: Here's what's in it
The Brief The Texas Legislature passed a massive $8.5 billion school funding package, which has now been sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval. Nearly half of the funding ($4.2 billion) is earmarked for teacher and staff pay raises. While supporters praise the investment, critics have concerns about how funds are allocated. AUSTIN - As schools were dismissed for the summer across the state, the Texas Legislature passed a massive $8.5 billion school funding package. House Bill 2 was sent to Governor Abbott's office on Thursday night. The funding plan looks to provide much-needed dollars to a public school system that has struggled under previous funding formulas. "Satisfying all of those needs is an incredible undertaking, and I believe that this version of House Bill 2 before you now meets that moment," said State Rep Brad Buckley (R) Salado who sponsored HB2. By the numbers About half of the money, according to Buckley, $4.2 billion goes to pay & retention. The money is to have a very specific pay out: $2,500 for teachers with three to four years of experience. $5,000 for teachers with five or more years of experience in districts with more than 5,000 students. $4,000 for teachers for three to 4 years $8,000 dollars for teachers with five more years of experience in districts with 5,000 or fewer students. $500 Million will go for support staff pay raises. Those that qualify include entry-level teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses, custodians, bus drivers, and other support staff. Harvey Kronberg with the Quorum Report says teacher was used as a political hostage by Governor Greg Abbott in the fight over school choice. Then it was used as leverage in the debate over banning unregulated THC products by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Final passage of HB2 may still bring political fallout. "So, the philosophical difference is do you trust the local school boards, or do you trust the legislature? And I'll leave that to the public to decide," said Kronberg. By the numbers There are several funding carve-outs in HB2. $677 million for early learning programs. $430 million school safety. $850 million increase for special education. $200 million in charter facilities funding. $300 million increase for rural schools. $153 million for career and Vo-Technical $135 million for teacher certification initiatives There were also questions about how the legislation creates a new $1.3 billion allotment for basic costs. That, according to Buckley, is money for insurance premiums, TRS costs, utilities, transportation. What they're saying "I'll be voting for it. As I've said before, I would vote for a $1 increase to public education," said state Rep. James Talarico during Thursday's final discussion on HB2. The Round Rock Democrat noted while HB2 is large, from him, it gets a failing grade for keeping pace with inflation. HB2 is a mixed bag for public education advocates like Heather Sheffield. "It is great news, it's amazing. However, we just still have some concerns," said Heather Sheffield. Sheffield, who is with the Association of Texas Professional Educators, spoke to FOX7 about those concerns. "It really hamstrings the way that districts can spend the money because it was given in such a way that it must be spent in certain areas. And so it does complicate matters a little bit," said Sheffield. The next step may still involve damage control on the local level. "Unfortunately, we're going to see some things happening in the interim with districts having to cut their budgets and again, because 86% of most district budgets are staff. I think we're unfortunately going to see some staff reductions and more school closures around the state," said Sheffield. A big unknown is how separate legislation dealing with property taxes will impact local school budgets. "A lot of the allotments are also tied to a raise in property values, and if there is not a raise in property values we're going to have an issue there too. So again, this is great news in some aspects, but it is a cautionary tale because there is going to be more help needed in the future," said Sheffield. The Source Information in this article comes from House Bill 2, comments made on the House floor and analysis by Heather Sheffield with the Association of Texas Professional Educators and Harvey Kronberg with the Quorum Report.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Legislature approves $8.5 billion boost for public schools after years of stagnant funding
The Texas House on Thursday gave the final stamp of approval to legislation authorizing roughly $8.5 billion in funding for public schools, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk where it is soon expected to become law. Final passage of House Bill 2, which will give schools additional money for teacher and staff salaries, educator preparation, special education, safety requirements and early childhood learning, comes on the heels of extensive negotiations between the House and Senate over how the final version of the bill would look. Abbott has already said he intends to sign the bill, a notable difference from two years ago when he and the Legislature withheld billions from public schools following a failed attempt to create a private school voucher program. This year, lawmakers vowed to approve vouchers and new public school funding in tandem. The Legislature finalized the education finance package nearly a month after vouchers officially became law. The new dollars in HB 2 will allow school districts to begin making a dent in some of their long-standing challenges — a laundry list of items that includes reversing budget deficits, providing raises to full-time employees and keeping up with rising operational costs. HB 2 will provide districts with a $55 per-student increase to their base funding — a number short of the $395 per student hike proposed by the House earlier in the session and far less than the roughly $1,300 school officials said they needed to keep up with inflation. That base funding, known as the basic allotment, provides districts the most flexibility to address the range of needs on their campuses, from salaries and maintenance to instructional materials and athletics. In place of a significant boost to the basic allotment, the bill will give districts $45 per student that they can only use to increase the salaries of school counselors, librarians, nurses and other support staff. The bill also grants schools $106 per student to pay costs associated with transportation, insurance, utilities and hiring retired educators, which has become more common as schools struggle to fill teacher vacancies. HB 2 raises educator pay, which represents more than $4 billion of the proposal's overall funding. To do so, the bill dictates: * Teachers with three to four years of experience in school districts with 5,000 or fewer students will receive a $4,000 raise, while those with five or more years of teaching on their resume will earn $8,000. * Teachers with three to four years of experience in school districts with more than 5,000 students will earn a $2,500 raise, while those with five or more years of experience will receive $5,000. Furthermore, HB 2 includes funding for an expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a state program that awards raises to educators who demonstrate that they have improved their students' academic outcomes — currently about 6% of teachers. The bill also would overhaul Texas' special education funding system to account for the individual needs of each student; establish a compensation system for educator preparation and mentorship programs; set aside money for schools to better identify learning difficulties among the state's youngest students and fund prekindergarten services; and increase the money districts receive for safety upgrades. This is a developing story; check back for updates. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tyler ISD reacts to Texas Senate passing $8.5 billion for education
TYLER, Texas (KETK) — East Texas will benefit from $8.5 billion in new state money once House Bill 2 is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. East Texas districts react to senate's approval of school choice bill 'The new legislation is a huge win for East Texas,' Tyler ISD's Superintendent of Schools, Marty Crawford said after HB2 passed the Texas Senate on Friday. The district will be able to get more money for teacher incentive payments to make sure that their students are getting the very best educators once HB2 becomes law. 'It's been a lot of work, and we're very appreciative of everything they've done down there in Austin,' Crawford said. 'We're very excited and very appreciative of the work that they've done to get us to this point. We think that what they've been able to do for us is to carve out some efficiencies for us internally here locally, that we'll be able to handle it appropriately as we go on.' The $430 million that's allotted for school safety in HB2 is helping the district ensure the peace of mind of students and parents. Tyler ISD may also be able to help out staff that aren't teachers. 'It's still pretty fresh and all the nuances will be coming into play on this. Certainly, a lot of the allotments that are in there now will let us take care of some of these fixed costs that we have,' Crawford said. 'There is a little bit of flexibility in there also, to where we can take care of some of our other educators that aren't teachers. In other words, the bus drivers, the custodial staff, and the food service staff being able to do that is going to be imperative for us to go forward, because everybody's trying to make a living. They're in this wonderful profession of K-12 education in Texas, and I think that they're going to be very happy with what we're going to be able to put together as far as a compensation package, this next budget.' Texas House moves to eliminate STAAR test, change school accountability system House Bill 2 has been approved in the Senate with changes that will have to be approved by the house before the bill can be signed into law. 'It's going to be a big win for Tyler ISD. It's going to be an even bigger win for all of East Texas,' Crawford said. 'It's got to be approved. Then we've got to get it with our financial folks to see how much of an increase that's going to be for Tyler ISD.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Senate gives preliminary OK to House Bill 2
May 23—AUSTIN — The Texas Senate has given preliminary approval to House Bill 2 to fund public schools and raise teacher and staff pay, according to a Facebook post from State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa. HB 2, which Landgraf co-authored, is an $8.5 billion increase in funding for Texas public schools, and it has been this year's legislative priority for the Texas House. The Senate has to vote on final passage May 23. "I'm proud to support it, and am grateful that the Senate has now passed it. This is an investment in our students, and by extension the future of Texas. Teachers need pay raises, and this provides $4.2 billion into teachers' pockets," Landgraf said in the post. For those who had concerns about education savings accounts, this is the pro-public education counterbalance to that, he wrote. "I look forward to one more vote to send HB 2 to the governor's desk. This record-breaking funding, combined with scrapping the STAAR exam, would make this the best legislative session for Texas public schools in my lifetime. I'm ready to make it happen, and Texas students, teachers and parents deserve nothing less," he said. Details included in the new version of HB 2 are: — $8.5 billion in new funding, the largest single increase in public education funding in Texas history. — $4.2 billion for record permanent teacher and staff pay raises. — $1.3 billion in Allotment for Basic Costs (ABC) to assist districts with expenses like insurance, utilities, and TRS contributions. — $2 billion to update special education formulas and fund full-day pre-K, early learning interventions, and Career & Technical Education (CTE). — $430 million for school safety. Under the new law, Ector County ISD would gain $21,456,765 in fiscal year 2026, information from Landgraf said. In fiscal year 2027, it would gain $25, 241,964. Dallas Kennedy, a special education teacher at the Transition Learning Center, said Thursday he was glad to see that they provided money for raises for all staff. He added that $4.2 billion was allotted for teacher raises and another $500 million for all other staff. "While selfishly I loved the idea of getting a raise, I was more worried about the bus drivers and paraprofessionals getting raises," Kennedy said. He added that ECISD "has done a great job stretching every penny they had, but they were out of pennies to stretch. Hopefully this bill will help the district balance it's budget."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Senate advances $8.5 billion increase to public school funding
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Late on Thursday night, the Texas Senate advanced a heavily-amended version of House Bill 2 to a third reading, adding $8.5 billion in public school funding over the next two years. The agreement between the Senate and the House was announced to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, more than a month after HB 2 was initially passed on the same day the House passed Education Savings Accounts legislation. 'This historic funding focuses on what works: better-supported teachers, safer schools, and greater opportunities for every student to succeed,' State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said in a joint statement with seven other lawmakers. 'The majority of these funds go straight to the classroom—not bureaucracy—ensuring student success drives every decision. HB 2 also strengthens school operations and provides districts with the resources they need to balance their budgets in the long term. The plan reflects our Texas values: empowering educators, investing in students, and securing the future of our state's economy.' According to a release from Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, the $8.5 billion is broken down into several subcategories rather than investing a large increase in the basic allotment. The updated HB 2 establishes an 'Allotment for Basic Costs' (ABC), which districts can use for expenses such as insurance, utilities and teacher retirement system (TRS) contributions. $1.3 billion will go to the new ABC. Additionally, $850 million will go to 'overhaul special education,' and $430 million will go towards school safety. A key amendment added to the initial version of HB 2, which establishes a fully funded full-day pre-K program, was also included in the final compromise. 'If the Legislature were to pass just one of the major components in HB 2—be it record-setting teacher pay raises, full-day pre-K, or a long-overdue overhaul of special education—that would be a transformative victory in its own right,' State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, said. Bernal authored the full-day pre-K amendment in the House. 'But HB 2 delivers all of these reforms and more, and when taken together, they represent a truly landmark achievement for Texas public education,' Bernal said. One of Gov. Greg Abbott's seven emergency items at the beginning of the session was to increase teacher pay. The updated version of HB 2 sets aside $4.2 billion for permanent teacher and staff pay raises. The permanent raises come for teachers with over three years of experience, with an additional raise for those with over five years experience. In addition, HB 2 grows the Teacher Incentive Allotment program, expanding it to more teachers across the state. Lastly, the bill allows for up to an $8,000 bonus for rural teachers. ''This agreement represents a historic breakthrough for rural Texas—for far too long, small and mid-size districts have been asked to do more with less, and HB 2 directly responds to those challenges,' State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, wrote. 'This bill will put rural Texas schools on stronger footing than ever before.' While the bill garnered praise from both sides of the aisle, not everyone shares the enthusiasm. 'This was a backroom deal. Members of the legislature in the House and in the Senate weren't involved in the creation of this new version of the school finance bill,' State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said. Talarico is a member of the House Public Education committee and a former classroom teacher. 'It angers me, because I came here to represent my constituents. I work with 150 members of the legislature who also are here to represent their constituents, and the fact that members of the House didn't get an opportunity to craft the details of this bill is an outrage.' Like most, Talarico had only been able to see the details as laid out by Burrow's staff. He took issue with the bill taking funds from the basic allotment and moving them to allotments with less flexibility. 'I think the state legislature is acting like the school board of Texas. They're trying to micromanage our local school communities across the state,' he said. 'The only way that we can keep schools open and that we can increase student performance is if we allow local communities to do the job that we're asking them to do without the state looking over their shoulders and micromanaging everything they do.' Talarico also has issues with the raw amount of new funding coming in, especially after the state dedicated $1 billion to ESAs — a program assisting families with private school tuition — earlier this session. 'This school finance package doesn't even catch us up to 2019 funding levels. We've had six years of rampant inflation,' he said. 'Most of our teachers are leaving the profession within the first five years, and within this package, those are the teachers who are getting the smaller pay raises — if they're getting any at all. Teachers who are under three years don't get any pay raise at all. We have a $24 billion budget surplus in this state. We have enough money to give an across-the-board teacher pay raise to every educator in our state and the Republican leaders in this Capitol refusing to do so. So this package is inadequate to the crisis that we face.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
