TSTA opposes House Bill 1 and any other bill that includes taxpayer-funded vouchers.
Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina released the following statement:
We are disappointed that the House education leadership has included a voucher in House Bill 1, it’s school finance bill. I want to make it clear that TSTA will oppose any bill that includes a voucher, and we oppose House Bill 1 in its current form. Our public schools very much need more state funding, and our teachers and school support staff need pay raises, but not at the cost of opening the door to taxpayer-funded vouchers that soon will drain billions of tax dollars from the state budget and cripple public education. Initially, HB1 sets limits on vouchers, but after those limits are lifted the voucher program will balloon. That has been the experience of other states that have adopted voucher programs.
We are disappointed that Gov. Abbott didn’t support a comprehensive school finance and educator pay bill during the regular session when lawmakers were working with a record $33 billion budget surplus. Unfortunately, the governor’s priorities are not public schools. Instead, his priorities are determined by wealthy political donors who want to privatize public education. We call on House members to reject the governor’s bullying tactics and keep fighting for their public schools, which is their constitutional responsibility.
