07-04-2025
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.'
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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.'
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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.'
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