AT THE CAPITOL
News from the 88th legislative session
QUOTE OF NOTE
Texas Democrats propose $15K pay raise for teachers
“THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: WE’RE NOT GOING TO END THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION WITHOUT HAVING STRATEGIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE POWER TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE FOR THE NEXT 40 YEARS.” GOV. GREG ABBOTT, DURING A JAN. 31 WINTER STORM MARA UPDATE UPDATES FROM LOCAL LEGISLATORS
BY HANNAH NORTON
National Education Association, Texas now ranks 28th. “In Texas, it’s go big or go home. And it’s time, at this moment, to go big on teacher pay,” Talarico said at a Jan. 24 news conference. Before becoming a lawmaker, Tala- rico taught language arts at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. “I struggled to make ends meet, and my coworkers at Rhodes Middle School drove Ubers at night and sold their own blood plasma to make extra money,” Talarico said. “Now, 40% of Texas teachers work a second job just to pay the bills.” Other supporters of the bill include state Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer, D San Antonio; Gina Hinojosa, D Aus- tin; and Terry Meza, D Irving. Many districts lost up to one-third of their teachers, Austin ISD board President Arati Singh said. “This leads to bigger class sizes, ... smaller course o erings and an increased likelihood that you have
EDUCATOR PAY RAISE Under House Bill 1548, lawmakers would propose a:
One proposed bill by Texas Demo- crats aims to increase teacher pay after 11.6% of teachers—over 42,000—left their jobs at public schools ahead of the 2021-22 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. State Rep. James Talarico, D Round Rock, led House Bill 1548—which is supported by the Texas House Democratic Caucus—that would raise teacher salaries by $15,000 and increase pay for school support sta by 25%. This would bring the minimum annual salary for Texas teachers to $48,660. During the 2022-23 school year, classroom teachers, full-time librarians, counselors and registered nurses with less than one year of expe- rience must receive at least $33,660 per year, according to the TEA. Under the bill, the average teacher salary would be $73,887, making Texas the seventh-best state for teacher pay, Democrats said. According to the
an uncerti ed teacher teaching your kids how to read,” Singh said. This session, Texas lawmakers have $188 billion available for the 2024-25 biennium state budget, including nearly $33 billion leftover from the previous biennium. The bill would also reduce property taxes, Singh said. The TEA partially funds schools based on attendance. The rest of the money schools receive comes from local property taxes. +$15K teacher salary increase +25% increase in pay for school support sta $48,660 minimum teacher salary, up from $33,660 $73,887 average teacher salary SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE COMMUNITY IMPACT
ERIN ZWIENER D Driftwood Elected: 2018
HB 970 Relating to the repeal of statutes regarding the criminality or unacceptability of homosexual conduct and to the recognition of certain same- sex relationship statuses
Residents can report latest winter storm damage
HOW TO REPORT STORM DAMAGE
JUDITH ZAFFIRINI D Laredo Elected: 1987
BY HANNAH NORTON
helps with receiving federal disaster assistance as a result of the storm. Reporting damage online is entirely voluntary and should not be done in place of submitting reports to insurance agencies. Abbott also issued a statewide disaster declaration for the seven counties of Denton, Hays, Hen- derson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson. The declaration makes state emergency resources available to help with repairs and cleanup.
Residents a ected by Winter Storm Mara can report their damage to help with disaster assistance. Visit https://damage.tdem.texas.gov
Texans impacted by Winter Storm Mara can report damage to their homes and businesses. The Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool, which can be found in English and Spanish, allows emergency management o cials to measure how much damage occurred during the storm and determine where resources are most needed, according to a Feb. 2 news release from Gov. Greg Abbott’s o ce. It also
Sign up for our newsletter at communityimpact.com for daily updates throughout the session. SUBSCRIBE TODAY SB 31 Relating to the interconnection of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas power grid to grids outside its power region
Select “ Ice Storm/Winter Weather January 29 - Ongoing ” under “ active incidents .” There is no deadline to report damage.
SOURCE: TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
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SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023
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