In hearing, Texas Democrats criticize school leaders for being too “nice” about their funding needs

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A group of Texas superintendents on Tuesday had an opportunity to argue why lawmakers should increase the base amount of state funding their schools receive for each student. But not all of them did so, leading Democrats to criticize the district leaders for not taking a more assertive approach to an issue threatening the stability of public education.

The exchange between school administrators and Democrats came while the House Public Education Committee conducted the first of two public hearings this week over the chamber’s priority school funding legislation. House Bill 2, a sweeping measure authored by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would increase schools’ base funding, raise merit pay for teachers, enhance state support for educator preparation and overhaul how Texas pays for special education.

The first day of the hearings featured testimony only from guest speakers invited by lawmakers — which included school superintendents, teachers and public education advocates — while the second hearing slated for Thursday will invite the general public to comment on the bill.

One of the key parts of the House proposal that received significant attention Tuesday would raise the base amount of money public schools receive for each student by $220 — a figure that falls significantly short of the roughly $1,000-$1,400 increase public education advocates have called for in recent years.

During an early portion of the 10-hour public hearing, Rep. John Bryant, a Dallas Democrat, asked district officials how much of an increase to schools’ base funding they would need to address their challenges.

“That's a very hard question,” said Joe Kucera, the superintendent of the Lorena school district who represented the Texas Association of Midsize Schools at the hearing. “Obviously, we're thankful for anything we get to improve the basic allotment. I don't know that I have that number off the top of my head. I know that I'm very thankful for Chairman Buckley to give us an increase to the basic allotment.”

One of the reasons Kucera showed up in support of HB 2, he added, was “because the reality is we need an increase to the basic allotment.”

The answer did not satisfy Bryant, who sought to make clear that the hearing provided schools an opportunity to help improve the bill before it leaves the committee. He then directed the question to Marty Crawford, superintendent of the Tyler school district. But the response was similar.

“I think it would be irresponsible of me to give you a number that would satisfy all of those needs, because we also need to make sure we keep the taxpayers in mind on this too and making sure that we're not penalizing them, because they're struggling as well,” Crawford, testifying on behalf of the Texas School Alliance, said. “I think the starting point of around $220 is a good starting point. I would love to see an increase to that. If you want to put something to it, double that and see how it goes. But again, y'all are the decision makers on that.”

Kelly Rasti, associate executive director of Governmental Relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, said adjusting the basic allotment for inflation since 2019 would equate to over a $1,300 increase. But Rasti said she would need to see projections on how the bill would affect school district funding before providing a clear answer to Bryant’s question.

“I think it's definitely higher than $220,” Rasti said. “It's probably more in the $600 range.”

Rep. Gina Hinjosa, D-Austin, said she appreciated school officials’ “pleasant” approach to their testimony. But if they want to see meaningful increases to public education funding, she added, they will need to voice their concerns in the same ways they have done so privately.

“You can't let nice get in the way of advocating for what your districts need. If this is enough, then OK, but you can't expect us to fight if you're not going to fight for your districts,” Hinojosa said. “When you close schools in your district, when you lay off teachers, you're going to own that if you're not going to come here and fight for what you need.”

The House recently introduced its school funding bill as part of a broad education agenda that includes establishing a private school voucher program and reworking the state’s discipline and school accountability standards. Buckley, the Salado Republican who chairs the Public Education Committee, said Tuesday that lawmakers would spend the next two weeks revising the school funding proposal before voting March 18 on whether to send the measure to the full Legislature for consideration.

Lawmakers have not increased the base amount of money schools receive from the state, referred to as the basic allotment, since 2019 despite inflation. The basic allotment offers districts the flexibility to raise salaries for essential employees — like bus drivers, nurses and teachers — and help them combat the rising costs of goods and services that keep their campuses functioning. Districts have said the state’s reluctance to raise the funds flowing into that pot of money has only worsened their struggles, ranging from budget deficits and program cuts to school closures and teacher shortages.

In the buildup to the legislative session in January, public education advocates sounded the alarm on the dire financial circumstances the lack of significant funding increases has caused. Some lawmakers have also publicly spoken about how district leaders have shown up to their offices pleading for more support.

But Republicans have grown reluctant to increase schools’ base dollars. Instead, they are pushing to direct funds toward specific initiatives like classroom safety and teacher salaries. Texas conservatives have long accused districts of spending too much money on administrators at the expense of instructor pay and student outcomes.

“I think if we had a simple investment in the basic allotment, we sort of skip over two of the most important things we could do, which is to make sure that we keep the best teachers in the classroom, that we incentivize them to stay there,” Buckley said at Tuesday’s hearing. “We pay them as the professionals that they are, but then we also provide the first ever real state investment in educator prep, so we are preparing teachers that are better prepared in the classroom.”

Many of the invited speakers expressed support for the school funding proposal, though they said they saw the bill as a starting point. Both the House and Senate are expected to continue building out their own versions of the legislation in the coming weeks.

Democrats repeatedly asked school leaders at the hearing whether the proposed legislation would provide enough funding to account for inflation since 2019.

“Heck no,” said Greg Gilbert, superintendent of the Santo school district. “But grateful for help.”

That assertiveness was absent in the leaders' responses to follow-up questions about base funding, which appeared to frustrate several Democrats and at least one Republican.

“If you’re asked a question, don't sugar-coat it,” said Rep. Charles Cunningham, R-Humble. “Give us an answer, because I can tell you my district … already gave me an answer.”

Gilbert, who showed up on behalf of the Texas Association of Rural Schools, questioned whether a $1,300 basic allotment increase — which he estimated would equate to an $11 billion price tag for the state — was a reasonable ask.

The question concerned Bryant, the Dallas Democrat.

“Yes, $11 billion, I'm ready to put that into public education right now,” Bryant said. “I would suggest that anyone who is going to come up here as a representative of school districts and raise that question, as though that's too much, maybe somebody else ought to be testifying for the school districts in your organization.”

Disclosure: Texas Association of School Boards and Texas School Alliance have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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