Issues

Investing in Our Students

• Public Schools are the best chance for every child to have an equal opportunity.
• Every child deserves high quality teachers.  If support for public schools continues to drop, it will be harder to attract and keep these teachers in Texas.
• Teachers are the experts and must have a voice in decisions regarding education.
• The Legislature cut $4 Billion from school districts  around the state and another $1.4 billion in education discretionary grants for vital programs, such as full pre-k and dropout prevention.
• Per student funding for public education ranks dead last among the states.
• Last session, the Legislature failed to fund student growth for the first time in 60 years.  Texas receives about 80,000 new students a year.
• Budget experts have estimated that as many as 49,000 school district employees may lose their jobs at the end of this school year.
• High stakes testing must be eliminated.
• This year, funding for higher education was cut by $969 million dollars.
• Over 50% of all high school seniors who qualify for the TEXAS grant will not receive it.
• University tuition rates will be rising even higher for parents and students because of these cuts.

Texans Need Jobs

• If the legislature continues to neglect public education, employers with higher paying jobs will take their companies to other states.
• Texas ranks first in the country with the most people earning minimum wage.
• We need to grow new jobs and support small businesses.  Every Texan should have the resources available to follow the American dream.
• State employees will suffer due to more than 5,000 jobs that were eliminated and roughly $4 billion in benefit cuts.