Last week, the Texas Tribune published a school finance explainer that puts to rest false claims from Gov. Greg Abbott and his pro-voucher ilk that Texas education funding is at an all-time high. The analysis concludes that the $15,000 per student figure touted by Governor Abbott online and in recent appearances includes federal pandemic relief dollars that have since expired, counts dollars that school districts cannot actually spend, and entirely fails to account for inflationary effects. 

None of this is news to anyone who has worked or learned in Texas public schools for the past several years. Just this month, in the state with the world’s eighth-largest economy, one Central Texas district was forced to cut its popular free dual-language pre-K program while another consolidated campuses to address a $110 million budget deficit.  

Rural, suburban, and urban districts across this state with a $24 billion budget surplus say they’re enduring “death by a thousand cuts,” trying to balance budgets through layoffs, shuttered programs, and larger class sizes.   

The solution is obvious: the state must raise its base funding for public schools – by a significant margin – for the first time in six years.  

Instead, here we are again on Gov. Abbott’s voucher roller coaster, where the House Public Education Committee voted 9-6 this week – without cameras and without testimony – to send the latest version of its voucher bill to the House floor. It makes sense that they wouldn’t want you to see this, Texas. You’ve told them you don’t want it.  

But as this fight continues to the floor of the Texas House, we’re asking you not to look away and not to give up. Lawmakers may not want to listen to their constituents and risk the monied wrath of the governor and his donors, but they must know you’re watching. And they must hear from you, relentlessly.  

Because our kids, our schools, our communities, and our profession are worth it.  

This week, both chambers of the Texas Legislature advanced major budget proposals, with public and higher education taking center stage. 

The Texas Senate unanimously passed a $336 billion budget for the 2026–27 biennium. The proposal includes $71 billion for the Foundation School Program, the main source of pre-K-12 public education funding, and $4.3 billion earmarked for targeted teacher pay raises. However, those raises are tied to years of experience and test-based student performance —something Texas AFT opposes, as it ignores the role of paraprofessionals and broader support staff in student success.  

The Senate’s budget proposal also allocates approximately $33.3 billion to higher education.  

Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee has moved forward with its own version of the state budget (despite theatrics from noted public school “supporter” Rep. Brian Harrison).  

The Texas House is likely to debate the budget on the floor around April 10; if you haven’t weighed in to tell your state rep. to support school funding, now is the time. 

📖 Amid Threat of Massive Funding Cuts, Rural School Administrators Work Overtime to Balance Uncertain Budgets. With mounting uncertainty and anticipated cuts on the horizon, rural school administrators are working tirelessly to balance next year’s budget. They do so for the students, families, and faculty who rely on strong public schools — and for their rural communities at large, whose well-being is closely tied to the fate of their local schools. (The Daily Yonder, March 31)  

📖What Will Make Teachers Stay? Ask Them — and Listen to What They Have to Say. Teachers are the largest in-school factor in student success, and higher turnover is linked to lower test scores. Given this, districts and schools should do all they can to ensure that their educators feel empowered, supported, and fulfilled in their jobs. One of the best ways to make teachers feel more satisfied: Ask them what they think needs to change about their work, and partner with them to implement solutions. (The 74 Million, April 1)  

📖A Texas school leader says material about diversity in state-approved textbooks violated the law. The decision to strip chapters from books that had already won the approval of the state’s Republican-controlled board of education represents an escalation in how local school boards run by ideological conservatives influence what children learn. (The Texas Tribune / ProPublica, April 2)