Commentary: Any voucher scheme that diverts taxpayer dollars to private schools will have a negative impact on retirees like me.
Gloria Gutierrez, a retired principal, holds up a sign against school vouchers outside of the Parents Matter Tailgate at Cornerstone Cristian School on Friday.Like many supporters of public schools, I fear that taxpayer-funded private school vouchers will harm Texas students and Texas school staff. Any voucher scheme would divert money away from our struggling schools. The basic allotment, the state’s foundational per-student contribution to public schools, has remained stagnant since 2019.
After nearly three decades as a public school teacher, I retired from Northside Independent School District in 2014. Since then, I have been able to live off my pension — only in part. I have had to work other jobs to make ends meet. Despite the fact that inflation has increased by over 31% since I retired in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, my pension has remained stagnant. Sadly, I’m better off than some of my peers. A Texas educator who has retired since 2004 has never received a cost-of-living adjustment. A dollar today is worth less than two-thirds of what it was worth in 2004.
Consider this, too: If vouchers were to pass, the remaining public school teachers likely would be paid less because of the dollars leaving the public school system. If teachers are paid less, the fixed percentage of their salary that they contribute to TRS is also less. This would compound the negative effect that stagnant teacher pay has had on the pension system.
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