Latest news with #Popinski
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Country Politics: School vouchers & teacher raises under the microscope
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – On this week's Big Country Politics, we're delving into the debate over school choice and hearing from both sides: Governor Greg Abbott and Bob Popinski, Senior Director of Policy for . WATCH: Gov. Abbott says Big Country will benefit from school vouchers, other legislative priorities Teacher pay has repeatedly been labeled an emergency item at the Capitol, and as lawmakers continue through the 89th legislative session, Governor Abbott says relief is finally on the way. 'I did make it an emergency item, because there are several criteria that lead to the best education. One of the foremost is having good-quality educators. To make sure we have those educators, we want to pay them and pay them more. We will be providing an all-time record amount of pay for teachers this session,' Abbott said. Popinski agreed that improving teacher pay is a priority, not only for Abbott but also for many in the Texas House and Senate. 'Texas ranks number 30 in the nation in teacher salaries, we're about $8,800 below the national average. So over the last handful of years, you've seen it harder and harder to attract and retain quality teachers in our public schools,' Popinski shared. 'There are some bills out there that will help increase teacher salaries. The Senate already passed Senate Bill 26, which would provide anywhere between a $2,500 raise and a $10,000 raise, depending on years of experience and the size of your school. The House has House Bill Two, which has some escalators in there for teacher salaries as well. So they're definitely paying attention to it.' Big Country Politics: Rep. Stan Lambert discusses hot topics in Texas, including school vouchers & healthcare monopolies With 5.5 million students and more than 380,000 teachers, Popinski says the top priority should be increasing the basic allotment in House Bill Two, which would set a higher per-student funding amount for public schools. 'But in order to do that, you need roughly $20 billion over the next two years just to give school districts the same purchasing power as they had back in 2019 and right now the bills moving through the process, I mentioned House Bill Two on the House side and Senate Bill 26, don't come close to that $20 billion amount,' Popinski explained. 'But at the end of the day, we are now competing with a voucher bill, Senate Bill Two, moving through the process that has a billion-dollar price tag on it. The first year of implementation is the 2627 school year, and it escalates to a cost of $4.8 billion by 2030.' However, Governor Abbott insists school choice and public school funding don't have to compete. 'We can have both. It's not one or the other. We can fully fund our public schools, which is what we're going to do, while at the same time providing a school choice option for parents across the region. We find it to be very effective in rural areas as well as suburban and urban areas,' Abbott said. 'The scope of this school choice program is smaller than that of one-quarter of charter schools. You haven't seen charter schools disrupt public schools in Abilene. Neither will you see school choice disrupt public schools in Abilene, San Angelo, or any other place like that.' Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas Popinski pushed back, arguing that public schools already offer a wide variety of options — with a level of oversight that private schools don't have to follow. 'We already offer great public school choice with great accountability. Students who go to public school-choice schools like Magnet programs or CTE programs have to follow the same rules as everyone else does. They have to follow the STAAR test. They have to follow the A through F accountability rating system. The school districts have to submit financial integrity ratings,' Popinski shared. 'When you go to a private school, they don't have to do any of that if they accept a student with an ESA program. Right now, the only thing those accredited private schools or vendors would have to do is provide a nationally normed reference test to those students in grades three through 12, and this bill, and that's kind of it. The comptroller has some accountability measures over them, but nothing compared to public schools.' As this legislation moves forward, Popinski stressed the financial strain districts are already facing. 'As you've seen in both the House bill and the Senate voucher bill program, is that over the course of just four years, it expands the $4.8 billion. If you look at the teacher pay raise bill right now, that the senate is offering, that's about the same they're offering for public school teacher pay raises,' Popinski said. 'Remember, there's 380,000 public school teachers and so we want, as we kind of move forward in the last 60 days, to make sure that that the legislature does its job, and make sure that the school districts have the resources needed so they can continue to provide a great education for our 5.5 million students.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
18-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Texas House Republicans call school funding plan "historic," but advocates say it falls short
Texas House Republicans are calling their proposed $9 billion boost to public school funding "historic," but education advocates argue that while the plan is a step in the right direction, it still falls short of what schools need to keep up with inflation and rising costs. "House Bill 2, along with other bills we'll be hearing in our committee, will make the largest investment in our public schools in the history of the State of Texas—even when adjusted for inflation," said state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, chairman of the House Public Education Committee. Buckley told CBS News Texas that the new funding includes nearly $2 billion for special education, teacher pay raises, and support staff. Bob Popinski, senior director of policy at the education advocacy group Raise Your Hand Texas , called the House proposal "a really good start" but said it still falls short. "Since 2009, we've seen a 22% increase in inflation. What does that mean? We need about $9.8 billion per year just to maintain the same purchasing power school districts had in 2019. Over a two-year budget cycle, that means we need about $20 billion," Popinski explained. Two years ago, the Texas Legislature left $4.5 billion for school districts unused after the House rejected Gov. Greg Abbott 's proposed education savings accounts, which would have allowed taxpayer money to fund private school tuition. Over the past year, many school districts have passed deficit budgets and even closed schools. When asked if state funding is to blame, Buckley responded, "Well, you're seeing lots of different reasons." One key reason, he said, is inflation. "It just costs more to do everything," Buckley noted. "Yeah, this reflects the largest investment in the history of Texas." Some school districts are also experiencing declining student enrollment, which reduces the amount of state funding they receive. Popinski emphasized that, despite lower enrollment, districts still face the same financial obligations. "You still have to take kids to school on the bus every day. You still have to offer them food service and hire cafeteria workers. You need principals, assistant principals, and extracurricular programs. All of that costs money," he said. To help districts struggling with enrollment declines, House Bill 2 includes a funding safeguard. "House Bill 2 has a 95% funding floor, meaning a district's funding cannot decrease by more than five percent per year due to enrollment declines," Buckley said. However, he added that districts still need to "right-size" their budgets. This provision of the bill is capped at $50 million. While Popinski said this funding protection is not a top priority for Raise Your Hand Texas, he acknowledged that it would help school districts. The Texas Senate has proposed an additional $5.3 billion in public school funding. Lawmakers in the House and Senate will now need to negotiate a final deal. Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming. Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
CBS News
15-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Opponents to school choice in Texas focus on potential long-term costs to taxpayers
As Texas Republicans push for taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, Democrats at the state Capitol and other opponents are raising concerns about the potential long-term cost of the program. The Texas Senate has already passed its bill, SB 2, that would spend $1 billion to send students to private schools. The House is working on its legislation that also has a $1 billion price tag. Under the House bill, HB 3, the state's Legislative Budget Board estimates that in 2030, the cost of the program could quadruple. The first year of these education savings accounts (ESA) will be the 2026-2027 school year. In 2028 and 2029, the estimated cost each year could grow to more than $3 billion. In 2030 alone, those costs could rise to $4 billion. The Senate's bill is estimated to cost more than $3.7 billion in 2030. Opponents, including Bob Popinski, Sr. Director of Policy at the public education advocacy group Raise Your Hand Texas, told CBS News Texas this is a big concern. "It's not the billion dollars that takes place in 2026-27," Popinski said. "It's what the analysis shows later on what this voucher bill will cost. By year five, they have this voucher bill going close to $4 billion per year. That's an $8 billion cost for a two-year state budget. Every state that has a voucher program that has expanded per student funding in public schools has gone down, and that's a problem." While the costs to taxpayers for sending students to private school are forecast to go up, they are not automatic. State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, told CBS News Texas that lawmakers would still have to decide how much more money they would want to spend for this program after the first year. "None of the funding for the ESA program comes from dollars allocated to public education. It just doesn't," Buckley said. "It's general revenue that has been allocated for this purpose. But it can be used for transportation, or healthcare, or the myriads of other things that we do in state government. We want to make sure we have a process that as many folks can engage in this as possible. "But we don't know how many parents will take us up on the offer. We do know there are significant numbers of families that are looking for options and this bill just seeks to provide them that option and give the parent that ultimate opportunity that really puts their child in the educational environment that fits them best." Another opponent, State Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, said that any money that goes to education savings accounts should be spent on public schools instead. "It's ridiculous because when we say let's stop being 44th in the nation, in the state contribution to public education, let's be 25th and spend some of those billions on public education they say 'Oh, we just can't afford to do it,'" Bryant said. "Well, we certainly can afford to do it. We have plenty of money to do it. The problem is that the Republican push is toward privatizing public education." While Democrats say public money shouldn't be spent on private schools, most Republicans say parents who pay taxes that fund schools should have a choice that includes private school. Gov. Greg Abbott, who has led the charge for the education savings accounts for more than two years, has repeatedly said school choice will pass in the House this session. Speaker Dustin Burrows agrees. If and when that happens, lawmakers in the House and Senate would have to negotiate differences in their bills and vote on a compromise measure.
