Texas Senate considers rewritten, $8 billion public school package

AUSTIN, Texas — After three weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations between chambers, the Texas Senate is considering a rewritten version of the $8 billion investment in public school financing, which the House of Representatives passed last month in tandem with the school vouchers legislation.

More than half of the record funding would go toward permanent across-the-board teacher pay raises. In rural districts, teachers with three to four years of experience receive $5,000 raises, while teachers with five or more years of experience receive $10,000 raises. Larger districts, defined as having more than 5,000 students, would receive $2,500 with three to four years of experience and $5,500 with five or more years.

"Because we are shifting billions of billions of dollars of burden off of the basic allotment, and creating a new permanent teacher allotment, that basic allotment is now freed up to cover those individuals in ways that it has not been before," Senator Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the bill's sponsor, said. "Because in the past, we have had restrictions on new dollars going into the basic allotment, where a certain percentage of those new dollars have to go to teachers. Now, that's not the case."

Democrats and public school advocates have criticized the legislation for significantly reducing an increase to the basic per-student allotment. That allotment is a set amount of money from the state that public schools receive for every student in their classrooms. The state has not increased that amount since 2019, before the pandemic and its ensuing inflation.

RELATED| "Joyous" or "Dark" day for Texas, partisan divide stark in 19-12 school choice vote

Under the provisions of House Bill 2, which was passed in April, the bill would increase the basic allotment by $395. Democrats noted that that is not enough to keep up with inflation, but it does represent a significant investment in public schools. The new version by the Senate cuts that figure down to $55.

“Greg Abbott took new per-student funding hostage for his voucher scam," Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Now, after getting his way on vouchers, he’s killing the hostage anyway. The crisis affecting Texas public schools will only accelerate. While schools across the state are closing, teachers are being laid off, and programs are being eliminated, Texas Republicans are openly siding with their billionaire mega-donors over 5.5 million public school students.”

Senator Creighton noted that the bill, instead, separates the basic per-student allotment from a new permanent allotment dedicated to teacher pay, meaning that the basic allotment is no longer tied to investments in teacher salaries.

The bill was taken up Thursday morning by the Senate's education committee. The committee recessed to take up work on the Senate floor but is expected to return later on Thursday.

In a press conference on Wednesday, state leaders were asked about the rewritten HB 2, where they confirmed behind-the-scenes negotiations between the chambers, rather than after the fact, as is usually done when the two sides cannot agree on a policy. Speaker Dustin Burrows, who championed public school finance in the House, said he was "very excited about" the rewritten HB 2.

"You look at the things that we have championed all throughout the session, and that's what we're looking at," Speaker Burrows said, asked by a CBS Austin reporter about the cuts made to the basic allotment increase. "Looking at just one number and not what the entire bill does, I don't think that is what we need to be doing."

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called it a "masterpiece," and Governor Greg Abbott indicated he would support the bill.