GUEST COMMENTARY
Every two years the Texas Legislature meets for 140 days. Despite the flurry of proposals by legislators, their only requirement is the passage of a balanced budget.
Aside from healthcare, public education is the largest part of the state budget. Policy directions established by the legislature and the resulting state aid greatly impact how local school districts govern. Since 2017, Boerne ISD trustees have established legislative priorities for lawmakers to consider. This advocacy includes meetings with local legislators, their staff and other senators and representatives from across the state.
On Jan. 16 over 20 community volunteers joined 13 trustees from Boerne, Comfort and Blanco ISDs in traveling to the state capital in Austin. This Hill Country coalition met with representatives of all 181 Senate and House members. No taxpayer money was used in this advocacy effort.
Our message focused on the almost identical legislative priorities adopted by the three districts.
One priority calls for an increase in the basic allotment, which guarantees $6,160 for every public-school student in Texas. Other weighted factors such as poverty rates, career and technical education and Special Education add to the basic allotment to total what Texas terms a school district’s “entitlement.”
Based on these formulas, BISD is “entitled” to $1,500 less per student than the state average. BISD’s lower amount of federal aid increases this funding gap to $3,000 per student.
Private schools have raised tuition to counter inflation, yet the basic allotment hasn’t changed since 2019 despite cumulative inflation of 22.4%.
BISD’s costs for property and casualty insurance, fuel, utilities, Special Education and school security have risen by $4.2 million since 2019. These items are essential to the proper functioning of any school district.
Another priority concerns teacher compensation.
Texas teachers make $9,000 less than the national average. BISD trustees advocate for the creation of a permanent teacher retention allotment to fund deserved raises for our teachers.
There is $4 billion included for public education in the current 2024-25 biennial budget that was never allocated due to failure to pass legislation appropriating this money; this would go a long way toward properly paying our dedicated teachers.
A third priority is to increase state aid for school safety.
House Bill 3 was signed into law in 2023, mandating armed security in each Texas public school. Some state aid was provided to cover the costs. While BISD was proactive in placing armed security in each school prior to HB 3’s passage, the increased state aid covers only 20% of our costs.
Just as businesses and states dislike federal mandates that raise the cost of doing business, local governments dislike unfunded mandates. Fortunately, Sen. Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has filed SB 2 that doubles state aid for school safety.
A final priority is property tax relief. We recognize that school property taxes are the largest share of a homeowners’ property tax bill. Through the years, the state’s share of public-school financing declined from its traditional 50% to under 40%, increasing the reliance on property taxes.
Fortunately, starting in 2019 the state started reversing this trend, enabling BISD to lower its tax rate from $1.35 to $0.99, helping homeowners offset the massive increase in property appraisals. Yet continued property tax relief is needed.
Everyone who graciously traded their day in for a trip to Austin with us was valuable, impactful and greatly appreciated. Our participants, ranging from education practicum high school students seeking to become teachers to business and community leaders, found it to be an encouraging and energizing day to see our community come together for the greater good of our students, staff and neighbors.
Parent Megan Fredrick shared her thoughts: “I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it. I loved the community coming together. I enjoyed the conversations that took place on the bus as far as brainstorming, shared vision and camaraderie in general.
“My team spoke with three representatives directly, and numerous chiefs of staff. Many of them were highly engaged in the discussion and we were pleased at how supportive every office was. All around, really great.”
Let’s hope this optimism is realized, as Texas is in a financial position to fund all of the priorities mentioned above. It’s time for the legislature to act.
Kristi Schmidt and Rich Sena are trustees on the Independent School District school board.
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