House Democrats called on Governor to put Students over Billionaires
Following Governor Greg Abbott’s State of the State address, Texas House Democrats held a press conference to address the Governor’s designated priorities on education and call on him to prioritize funding for neighborhood schools before his billionaire-backed private school voucher scam.
The press conference was held at Parmer Lane Elementary School where, six years ago, Governor Greg Abbott signed the landmark HB 3 school finance bill. Now, Parmer Lane Elementary is at risk of closure because of Greg Abbott’s school funding crisis.
Since the signing of HB 3 in 2019, per-student funding has dropped to its lowest level in a decade. Last legislative session, after a bipartisan pro-public education coalition in the Texas House defeated Abbott’s private school voucher plan, the Governor retaliated by holding funding for our schools hostage. Now, countless school districts are cutting programs and closing schools due to budget shortfalls.
“Greg Abbott broke the promise he made here at Parmer Lane Elementary. He’s no longer working for the nearly 6 million school children of Texas — he’s working for the billionaires who write $6 million checks,” said Rep. James Talarico
(HD-50, Travis County).
“I will tell you right now that as a mother of a child in public schools, I’ll be damned if my son has to continue to take the STAAR test while wealthy families get to opt out of the STAAR with our public tax dollars,” said Rep. Gina Hinojosa
(HD-49, Travis County).
“Texas already struggles with underfunded schools, overcrowded classrooms, and overworked teachers. Taking more money away does not create opportunity, it deepens inequality,” said Rep. Rhetta Bowers (HD-113, Dallas County).
“While Greg Abbott plays political games with out-of-state billionaire donors, our neighborhood schools are fighting for survival. There’s no real ‘choice’ in Gov. Abbott’s voucher scam, except the choice legislators face this session: We can either fund our local schools that serve all Texas children, or we can subsidize private tuition for the wealthy few. Greg Abbott has given our kids little more than empty promises and shuttered schools, but Texans won’t buy what he and his megadonors are selling,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu (HD-137, Harris County).
