Democrats in Texas House unveil bill to boost public school funding & teacher salaries
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Democratic lawmakers in the Texas House have filed a bill that would give a big boost to public school funding and teacher salaries.
The State representatives unveiled their legislation at a news conference Thursday morning even though school funding is not part of the special session agenda, and Governor Greg Abbott said it won't be unless lawmakers pass a bill providing taxpayer subsidies so some students can attend private school.
But Texas House Democrats said the State of Texas is failing its public schools when it comes to funding.
Representative James Talarico (D-Austin) said at the news conference, "We have a school funding emergency in this state."
He and other Democrats said the state has fallen $40 billion behind the national average.
To change that, their bill would increase the amount school districts receive per student from $6,160 to $8,947.
The bill would also try to keep teachers from leaving the profession—which has been a big problem in Texas—by giving them a $15,000 raise.
In an interview with CBS News Texas, Talarico said, "It'll stop teacher turnover, and it will keep good teachers in the classroom serving our kids in the years to come."
When asked if the state could sustain the big funding increases, Talarico said, "That's exactly right. Again, this is not unachievable."
Senate Republicans passed their own version of a school funding bill last week that provides more money for school districts and teachers—but far less than what Democrats proposed.
It raises the funding per student from $6,160 to $6,235. Most teachers would receive a $3,000 retention bonus.
But teachers in small and mid-size districts would get a $7,000 retention bonus.
During a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee last week, Chair Joan Huffman (R-Houston) said the state can't spend more than the constitutional limit. "We must remain fiscally responsible not to commit to ongoing expenses that the state cannot sustain."
Talarico criticized the Senate bill. "The Senate school finance bill is laughable. It doesn't even catch us up to inflation."
The House is not considering the Senate's school funding bill yet.
On Thursday night, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, the Chair of the Educational Opportunity and Enrichment Select Committee, filed a 184-page bill that calls for using taxpayer money to provide subsidies for some students to attend private school in exchange for increasing funding for public schools and a one-time bonus of $4,000 for teachers.
The Senate passed its version of taxpayer-financed education savings accounts last week.