CONTINUED FROM 1
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
SPENDING PER STUDENT Local school districts, the state and the nation have all spent more per student over the years than the state basic allotment of $6,160.
NOT KEEPING UP
TWO TYPES OF VOUCHERS
The basic allotment per student has been $6,160 since the 2019-2020 school year.
Allotment per student
Allotment per student adjusted for in ation
+17.59%
$15,000
Traditional vouchers and education savings accounts are two voucher programs proposed by state lawmakers.
+17.37%
$8,000 $7,000 $6,000 $5,000 $0
+9.55%
$12,000
$7,100+
+16.94%
$9,000
Traditional vouchers A state-funded voucher redeemable for tuition fees at a school other than the public school Education savings account A state-created, taxpayer- funded account parents can use to pay for private school tuition
$6,160
$6,160
$6,000
Northwest ISD
Keller ISD
Texas
United States
$3,000
2019
2022
$0
HOW THEY VOTED
The Texas House voted 86-52 for an amendment against vouchers in 2023.
programs one of his top legislative pri- orities this year, has been speaking on the subject for much of 2023. “When a school does fall short of excellence, when it strays too far from the fundamentals or simply cannot meet the unique needs of a partic- ular child, parents should be able to choose the education option that is best for their child,” Abbott said in a
on giving parents more rights, when vouchers would actually inhibit their rights by funding schools that can pick and choose whom to serve and how they serve without any public input, he said. “Local community schools have elected leaders who are accountable to all taxpayers. If you don’t like their deci- sions, you can vote them out of o ce,” Brown said. “Taxation without representation runs decidedly counter to American values.”
86-52
During an NISD board meeting April 10, Superintendent Mark Foust said district o cials are against vouchers and stand with several groups such as the Texas Parent Teacher Association and the Texas State Teachers Associ- ation that also oppose vouchers and education savings accounts. “Northwest ISD will continue to oppose the concept of vouchers, and we are aligned with a number of pres- tigious organizations across Texas that feel that same way,” Foust said. Voucher validation School vouchers—sometimes called education savings accounts—give par- ents public money to put toward pri- vate school tuition for their children. Senate Bill 8, led by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R Conroe, chair of the Sen- ate Committee on Education, would have given parents $8,000 per student for private school tuition and other education-related expenses, such as books, uniforms, computers, educa- tional therapies, and transportation to and from school. “There’s been a grass re across this nation for parental choice and educa- tional empowerment. This is educa- tion freedom; this is making sure that the state of Texas falls in line where we should be leading,” Creighton said on March 10 when he led the bill. Supporters said these programs allow students to leave a failing pub- lic school system and give parents more control over their children’s edu- cation. Abbott, who supports tradi- tional vouchers and education savings accounts and made school voucher
Jan. 31 speech at Annap- olis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi. “The way to do that is with educa- tion savings accounts.” According to previ- ous Community Impact reporting, Michael Barba, K-12 education policy director at the Texas Pub- lic Policy Foundation, said
PARTIAL FUNDING
"NORTHWEST ISD WILL CONTINUE TO OPPOSE THE CONCEPT OF VOUCHERS." MARK FOUST, NORTHWEST ISD SUPERINTENDENT
Tuition at many Keller-area private schools exceeds the proposed voucher amount. Families would pay the di erence.
If vouchers were to get passed in the future, local support organizations are ready to step in and help provide assistance. Education Service Center Region 11, which covers
42.54% $5,923 Student portion
average private school tuition $13,923
57.46% $8,000 State portion
he believes Senate Bill 8 would make “great progress” toward giving par- ents alternatives if they have concerns about the quality of their children’s education. Voucher opposition While critics said voucher programs take money away from public school districts, Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, a professional association for Texas school superin- tendents and other administrators, was more speci c with his critique, saying vouchers are not only expensive but they “erode our democracy.” “The last thing our state needs to do is provide ‘welfare checks’ to wealthy families to attend selective private schools, and that is exactly what has occurred in many states that have enacted vouchers,” Brown said. Brown also claimed it was “ironic” the voucher conversation centers
10 counties in North Texas, provides professional development, technical assistance and management of edu- cational programs to 76 public school districts, including Northwest ISD and Keller ISD, 17 public charter schools, 90 charter campuses and 150 private schools. Chief Communications O - cer Lori Burton said if vouchers were to impact the districts in the region, then the center would focus its support on that aspect. “This impact could be immediate or it could be down the road,” Burton said. Vouchers and basic allotment Debate about vouchers has caused the creation of a 15-member Texas House committee—composed of Republican and Democratic lawmak- ers—that has made several recommen- dations regarding school nance, one of which is basic allotment. Basic allotment is the amount school districts receive from the state per
student, which has been set at $6,160 per student since 2019. According to Education Week’s 2021 School Finance Rankings, Texas ranks No. 42 nation- ally in per-student spending. “Our board and administration have continued to advocate for an increase in the basic allotment—which has not been raised since 2019, despite in a- tion increasing by 17% over that time,” a Keller ISD statement said on July 31. The statement also said administra- tors cut more than $17 million to bal- ance the budget approved by the board for the 2023-24 scal year. SOURCES: KELLER AREA PRIVATE SCHOOLS, KELLER ISD, RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
17
KELLER ROANOKE NORTHEAST FORT WORTH EDITION • AUGUST 2023
Powered by FlippingBook