Ben Bius discusses school budget challenges, vouchers ahead of Primary Runoff Election

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Early voting began Monday for the Primary Runoff Election.

One race some Brazos Valley voters will see on their ballot is Texas House District 12. The seat represents Robertson, Madison, Walker, Grimes, Washington and the eastern and southern portions of Brazos County in Austin.

Kyle Kacal currently holds the District 12 chair. In November, he announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. Two Republicans are running in hopes of filling his seat: Ben Bius and Trey Wharton.

KBTX reached out to both men to appear on News 3 at Six this week. Wharton’s campaign said due to a busy schedule and family commitments, he was unable to appear.

Bius accepted the invitation. He joined News 3 at Six Monday to discuss why he believes he should take the seat.

Bius says he and his team have been going door-to-door, learning what constituents’ priorities are. He says some of the big issues are the state of the nation, the 2024 Presidential Election, securing the border, and the Biden administration’s updated Title IX rules.

“I applaud the governor and I applaud Texas A&M for standing up and saying this is Texas,” said Bius. “We had a luncheon with a constitutional lawyer today. He was explaining some of the cases of the constitution. This is going to be a big, big issue and thank thankfully, Attorney General Paxton’s going to fight for Texas.”

As the school year draws to a close, districts across Texas are dealing with financial hurdles including inflation, the expiration of pandemic-relief grants, and stagnant state funding. During the last legislative session, amid a deadlock over the issue of school vouchers, Texas lawmakers did not increase funding for public schools.

Bius shared a message to these school districts: “Help is on the way.”

“I believe that in these four special sessions, I made note of it last time I was here, I thought that was a mistake. I believe that we need to put funding education first. COVID taught us some really valuable lessons that we need to heed and they haven’t necessarily been heard in the Texas House,” said Bius.

He says some of his biggest priorities for public schools are fixing “a lack of classroom discipline” and “taking back our schools.”

“If we take back our schools and we support the teachers’ ability to maintain classroom discipline, then I believe that we can have school choice and our public schools can be competitive. We can properly fund them,” said Bius. “It’s it’s not a one-size-fits-all education policy, it’s very complicated, but it starts with great teachers, well paid and supported.”

Bius says he believes school vouchers, or “school choice,” will help school districts struggling with the large number of students in their area.

“Let me pose it this way: if you believe it’s your money and these are our children and these are local schools, then you’re for school choice as well,” said Bius.

Bius says anyone who wants to learn more about him can visit his website, or call him with any questions at 936-265-9500.

Watch the full interview with Ben Bius in the player above.

Trey Wharton appeared on News 3 at Six back in February, ahead of the Primary Election. That interview is available to watch here.

Early voting is happening from Monday, May 20 through Friday, May 24. Election Day is Tuesday, May 28. After the runoff, the Republican candidate will face off with Democrat Dee Howard Mullins and Libertarian Robert Profili in the General Election in November.