EDUCATION Conroe ISD critical of proposed school choice, salary legislation
A pair of bills authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, and supported by Gov. Greg Abbott seek to widen school choice and raise teach- ers’ salaries, but Conroe ISD officials say both proposals would put the dis- trict at a disadvantage. Senate Bill 8 would create an edu- cation savings account program, also known as private school vouchers. The Legislative Budget Board reported BY CASSANDRA JENKINS & DANICA LLOYD BREAKING DOWN Education savings accounts as laid out in Senate Bill 8 would provide families with $8,000 for education-related expenses. Parents would be able to choose how those funds are spent with certain parameters. Senate Bill 8 ELIGIBILITY A child is eligible for the program if they Are eligible to attend public school Are enrolled for the current school year in a public school or pre-K Attended a public school for at least 90% of the previous school year
lines with one Republican and all Democrats voting against it. However, the vote came the same day the House approved a budget amendment to prohibit the use of public funds for education savings accounts in an 86-52 vote. While SB 8 would not use funds allocated for public schools, oppo- nents of the legislation, such as CISD, have expressed concerns that more funding is needed in public schools, which are funded on student enroll- ment and daily attendance. Darrin Rice, the district’s chief financial offi- cer, said CISD has seen lower atten- dance rates since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. CISD’s attendance numbers dropped from an average 94.3% prepandemic to 92.5% in the 2022-23 school year. Due to the lower attendance rate, Null said CISD does not receive the full $6,160 basic per-student allotment from the
under the original bill it would cost the state $531 million through 2025 from general state revenue. If the bill is signed into law, parents who pull their children out of public schools could receive $8,000 or more per stu- dent for private school tuition and other education-related expenses. A subsequent revision by the House proposed $7,500 per student. Meanwhile, SB 9 would give all teachers in the state of Texas a raise. However, districts with 20,000 stu- dents or less would receive a $6,000 raise while schools with more than 20,000 students would receive the minimum $2,000. Creighton said together the bills are designed to empower parents’ rights while simultaneously supporting the public education system. “I think parents more than ever are asking for education options,” he said. “On top of that, we are lifting up
our public schools and public school teachers. The narrative that we can’t do both is disingenuous. We can do both, and we will.” However, CISD Superintendent Curtis Null said providing funding to a “parallel education system” will hurt public educators and districts. “It has zero accountability to the taxpayers,” Null said. “That feels fun- damentally unfair to me to do that.” Senate Bills 8 and 9 passed in the Texas Senate on April 6. As of press time May 12, SB 8 was scheduled for a public hearing in the House’s Public Education Committee on May 15 after several changes were made to the bill. SB 9 was left pending in committee after a public hearing May 9. The reg- ular legislative session ends May 29. School choice SB 8 passed the Senate on April 6. The vote was split 18-13 along party
FUNDING EDUCATION IN TEXAS With a budget surplus of over $32 billion, public education advocates are calling on state lawmakers to invest more in public schools. At the same time, legislators could pass a school choice bill this session to provide families with funds to leave public schools and enroll in private schools. Public schools Private schools
The basic allotment—state funding school districts receive per student to provide basic education
How much families would receive per child for education-related expenses under the original Senate Bill 8
Tuition and fees for a private school EXPENSES COVERED
$6,160
$8,000
$10,290 -$41,888
Conroe ISD’s per-student allotment from the state based on attendance
Range of annual private school tuition in The Woodlands*
$5,790
Fees for educational therapies not covered by a government program Textbooks or other instructional materials and uniforms
*This range is based on a survey of 22 private schools conducted in January 2023.
Where Texas ranks in per-student spending by state
42nd
SOURCES: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, EDUCATION WEEK’S 2021 SCHOOL FINANCE RANKINGS, SENATE BILL 8, CONROE ISD, PRIVATE SCHOOL REVIEW/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE, TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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