15-02-2025
Landgraf talks ESAs at chamber reception
Feb. 14—About 150 people turned out Friday to the Odessa Chamber of Commerce's inaugural Pastries and Politics Reception to meet and greet elected representatives and officials from throughout the community.
State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, was among the group. Landgraf said the legislative session is off to a good start, although it's going to be a tough time for consensus building across the state.
"We have a lot of contentious issues; a big development in the House yesterday, as the committee assignments were finally made. We have a house that's organized; a lot of consolidated committees, so things are going to look a lot different this session. I'm very honored that I've been named, again, to be chairman of the House Environmental Regulation Committee, which is really important for us in the Permian Basin. But with committee assignments made, bills are continuing to be filed. I'm ready to get to work," Landgraf said.
There is currently a bill filed by Rep. Briscoe Cain, HB 2736, which would require a two-thirds (66%) vote to authorize the issuance of bonds or to increase taxes. This issue is also part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Property Tax Relief emergency item.
Landgraf said he shares Abbott's goal of property tax relief and there are bills that would do that without changing majority rule in Texas.
"I think that we can achieve the same goal of having property tax relief for all Texans without having to change the way that we deal with property tax increases at the local level. I know it's a concern for a lot of our local taxing entities. On one hand, we do want property tax relief for all Texas property taxpayers. On the other hand, we want to make sure that institutions like Odessa College have the resources that they need to be able to fulfill their mission. They've done a great job of it over their multi-decade history. With the great leadership that we have in place, (President) Dr. (Gregory) Williams and his board and faculty and staff, I think that they can continue to do that, and that goes for a lot of other local government entities that we have here in the Permian Basin," Landgraf said.
Voter turnout in Ector County is usually low.
Landgraf said majority rule is a foundational principle.
"If you change that threshold too much, then it potentially comes a situation where you can have a very small group of voters" carrying the will of the majority, he said.
"There does seem to be something incompatible with that when it comes to our Constitutional Republic," Landgraf added.
On the subject of Education Savings Accounts, or vouchers, Landgraf said Abbott has made school choice an emergency item.
"The Texas Senate has already passed SB 2, which would provide Education Savings Accounts up to about $10,000 for about 100,000 students," he said.
"There is a lot of momentum behind this. As I mentioned, the Senate has already passed it. The House is probably going to come up with its own proposal that's going to look different, and then there will be some work between the House and the Senate. I do expect that there will be some sort of Education Savings Account legislation that passes. My goal for all of this is for ESAs is to be part of a larger legislative package where we can actually make educational opportunities for every student in Texas better, and that means that we also have to make sure that we are taking care of our K through 12 students in public schools all across the state, including Ector County ISD, including Monahans, including Kermit, Wink, Grandfalls, all of our school districts need to have plenty of support from the state. Our teachers need pay raises. They need to have a competitive advantage.
"I think that we can provide more school choice options, but we also need to make sure that students who are going to continue to rely on public schools have a good, good option within that when it passes," Landgraf said.
Part of SB 2 allows $2,000 for Education Savings Accounts for homeschool children whose families opt into that program. But it's not mandatory.
"It's purely optional, but if the family decides to do that and they want $2,000 to help cover the costs of homeschool education from books, supplies, learning programs, things like that, then they could be eligible for that Education Savings Account under the proposal. But there are also strings that come attached with that, like a testing requirement and some other oversight from the state," Landgraf said.
He added that he has gotten a lot of feedback from homeschool parents who want absolutely nothing to do with an ESA because they like having that autonomy.
They like being able to make all those decisions themselves.
"I've actually heard from a lot of homeschool parents saying we don't want these vouchers. We don't even want you to pass them. That's been an interesting dynamic to see, but I've gotten a lot of feedback from all sides on this issue," Landgraf said.
Out of the 100,000 or so students who could get Education Savings Accounts, 80% are targeted as low-income or learning disabled students. Students who have special needs that require special education. That makes up about 80% of the program now and then the other 20% would be open to everybody, all students in Texas.
"That's a bit of the balance, but it does seem to prioritize private schools. Of course, charter schools are public. They don't have tuition, and so they wouldn't be covered by these Education Savings Accounts just the same way that ISD students wouldn't be," Landgraf said.
The way the SB 2 Education Savings Accounts are set up, it's purely voluntary for students to participate. It's also voluntary for a private school to participate.
"There's nothing that would compel a private school to accept a student the way that state law requires public schools to accept students who live in their designated neighborhoods. ... I do think that (it) could create some opportunities, not necessarily in West Texas. I don't know that it would have a tremendous impact, just because we don't have the volume of students here in the way that inner-city, Houston, does.
"I think it could create some opportunities for students who are in failing school districts in Houston who literally don't have any other options because there just isn't anything there for them without having some sort of financial assistance," he added.
Landgraf said he's talked to a lot of private schools in West Texas who don't want the ESA program because they're already at capacity and have waiting lists.
"And they would rather not have the strings that would be attached to any ESA," he added.
There is a lot of opposition to ESAs, but there is also a lot of support for having an ESA program that provides choice for students who don't have it.
"I think it's more of a principle thing for a lot of people. There's a lot of support on both sides. I will say that the anti-ESA crowd is definitely better organized and speaking a little bit louder. But there's also some misinformation on both sides about what this ESA does do. I want to be very clear that the ESA, even in SB 2 as proposed, would not dismantle public schools. It would only have an impact over 100,000 out of almost 6 million school children in Texas. We're talking about a very small percentage of students. What that means is, if we're only pulling about $1 billion, we're dedicating about $1 billion dollars to an ESA program when we're spending $96 billion on public education throughout the state; $1 billion is not going to defund $96 billion. I do want to be clear that this ESA program is not a silver bullet that's going to fix everything that's wrong with education in Texas. It's also not going to be something that can dismantle public education in Texas as we know it," Landgraf said.
He added that ESAs can be used by public school students for supplemental training, tutoring and for online education programs.
"There are also other opportunities that all students can take advantage of if they have special needs, what they need, after-school tutoring or online tutoring, things like that so there are other ways that even public school students can take ESA program," Landgraf said.
He noted that a lot of people think that there's no accountability that goes with this public money for private schools in SB 2.
"Yes, we do need to have accountability for that public money. The ESAs do not require students to take the STAAR exam, just a nationally norm referenced test, which can be a much more efficient standardized test. I think if that's good enough for ESAs it should be good enough for every student in Texas. I think there is also an opportunity to use this ESA conversation to really get some much needed reform to scrap the STAAR exam in Texas for all students," Landgraf said.
He also said there is nothing that would suggest SB 2 affects teacher retirement.
"I'm a huge proponent of retired teachers. I know that there's a narrative that's floating around out there that this would defund the pensions for retired teachers. That's something that I'm very sensitive about," Landgraf said.
In the last legislative session with the help of Texas voters, a lot of money was allocated to make sure that the Teacher Retirement System is actuarily sound for years to come.
Calculators on social media give figures on how much districts would lose if ESAs passed. Landgraf said he has seen them and said with 100,000 students spread across the state it's not going to take away from, especially rural school districts, where there aren't any private school options.
"The math doesn't actually work out. Again, I respect everybody for having very deeply held views on this issue, but again, from a policymaker's perspective, if we keep this about facts, then it's going to be a much better conversation. The fear tactics don't really resonate with me. I've got to look at the facts, and in a lot of cases, these generators showing how much money would be lost are not accurate," Landgraf said.
While the ESA program would start small, Landgraf said it would be up to future legislators to decide whether it will grow.
"It's always a possibility. It's also a possibility that if it's a dismal failure, it can be scrapped altogether. But if it's a success, then it can grow. I think we should allow it to grow or contract based on its own merits," Landgraf said.
Odessa Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Renee Earls said they have had receptions for elected officials throughout the years.
"We have the pleasure of meeting our elected officials on a regular basis. We can call them. We can talk to them. We meet with them on issues. But many of our members don't have that opportunity so really, this is for our members to get to meet them, visit with them, begin a relationship with them, and then later down the line, if they need something, they know who to call," Earls said.
The officials that are not elected are still a big part of the community.
Earls said they will be hosting a reception for newly minted ECISD Superintendent Keeley Boyer sometime in March.
"We wanted to see how successful it would be. (We) really had no idea what to expect, and so we threw it out there" and it's been successful, Earls said.
