The Texas legislature has begun a special session to once again try to divert public school funds to pay for private school subsidies. The Governor has also instructed the legislature to take up a list of political hot-button issues, including border security, public safety, and even COVID-19 vaccine restrictions.
The one thing the Governor isn’t allowing the legislature to consider is the one thing we need: a funding increase for public schools. State funding for public schools hasn’t increased since 2019. Since then, inflation has gone up 19%, which has forced Dallas ISD and all other DFW-area school districts to dip into savings to pass deficit budgets. Without help from our state legislature, Texas public schools are not fiscally sustainable.
The Governor and state leaders are counting on political pressure to pass private school vouchers. What they’re not counting on is you. They’ve scheduled this special session during the school year in hopes that we’ll be too busy teaching children to speak up for them. That’s why I’m emailing you – I need you to email them.
Click here to send state lawmakers the message that they need to support public schools, not subsidize private schools. I hate asking you to do one more thing in a busy workweek, but I would never forgive myself if I didn’t ask. And I know we’d all regret it if we didn’t speak up for our kids. After all, our students can’t vote, and many of our legislators aren’t listening to our kids. That’s why I need you to be their voice!
Thank you,
Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Dallas ISD
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