Local charter school voices concern for future state public education funding
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Several primary races for the Texas House saw incumbents lose to primary challengers endorsed by Governor Greg Abbott.
Those incumbents voted against school vouchers during the four legislative special sessions, a bill the governor made one of his top policy priorities. The candidates he endorsed shared his support for school vouchers.
For ILTexas Superintendent Eddie Conger, their success on Tuesday could signal a shakeup to the political landscape in Austin, which he said will have a major impact on funding public education.
House Bill 1, which would have increased public education funding, also failed to pass those legislative special sessions after the voucher component was blocked, leaving over $1 billion on the table.
Superintendent Conger said now, public schools are in a weak position to hold onto that money.
“I just don’t think we’re going to be in a stronger position to get half of that in this next session,” he said.
Both traditional public schools and public charter schools share similar concerns for the next legislative special session.
“We just need to stand united and make sure that the funding sources are not splintered,” Ginger Carrabine, Bryan ISD Superintendent, said.
Conger said he hopes any funding is directed to where it’s needed most.
“There are absolute, complete, legitimate public school funding needs that we have,” he said.
The basic allotment for students, which both public schools and charter schools receive from the state, hasn’t increased since 2019, Carrabine said.
She added that public educators should have a place in those conversations regarding public school funding.
“I hope that when they look at basic allotment and determining funding sources for compensation again, we will be at the table with them,” she said.
