Gov. Greg Abbott said public schools could lose funding when parents pick private schools, but then says public schools won't lose any funding.
Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t always the best messenger for his own priorities. That was clear again this week as he advocated for a school choice program that would allow parents to use state funding to pay for a portion of a private school’s tuition, often called school vouchers.
Abbott has long tried to calm nerves in rural Texas where school districts are already struggling to cover expenses and losing certified teachers to other states that can pay more. They fear Abbott’s proposed program could ultimately reduce how much funding they get from the state. Abbott has repeatedly assured those areas that the “educational savings accounts” won’t hurt public schools. Yet, as reporters Edward McKinley and Benjamin Wermund pointed out, Abbott acknowledged on social media this week that public schools could be defunded through his program by parents choosing to send their children to private schools. “The people ‘defunding’ public schools are PARENTS choosing a better option than what their assigned school provides,” Abbott wrote Wednesday in a post on X, referring to arguments that his voucher plan will defund public schools by offering parents state money to send their children elsewhere. “When they leave, the funding for that child leaves too,” Abbott wrote. “Democrats want to FORCE families to stay in government mandated schools against their will.” That had critics of Abbott’s plan pouncing, saying Abbott finally admitted public schools would lose funding under his program if parents use ESAs to leave public schools. But Abbott the next day went back the other way, insisting public schools won’t lose funding. “School choice doesn't take a penny from public schools,” Abbott said. “It's funded separately like roads and water.” The biggest roadblock for Abbott’s proposal has been rural school districts. Key Republicans from those areas helped defeat vouchers during the 2023 regular session and in two special sessions. Those Republicans have warned that ESA will ultimately reduce overall state funding to public schools at a time when many are struggling to pay for teachers. Hearst Newspapers reported last year that public schools are increasingly having to hire uncertified teachers. Now some school districts are hiring uncertified teachers. Uncertified teachers, many of whom are located in rural school districts, accounted for nearly 40% of new hires in the 2023-2024 school year.
Hearst Newspapers Greg Abbott Republicans Edward Mckinley X Benjamin Wermund Democrats Texas
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