The Fight for Strong Public Schools in Texas
Few subjects are more political in Texas than school funding — the obsession of Governor Greg Abbot. The Texas Tribune covered Governor Abbot’s effort to primary out anti-voucher Republicans after his failures in the 2023 legislative session.
Because Abbot’s fight over vouchers has been going on for so long, and Texas has been underfunding its schools for so long, that it’s hard to keep up with the current situation. For the 2024-2025 school year, El Paso Matters has done a good explainer of how the school funding situation stands.
Our TX Rep, Morgan Meyer, supports vouchers and opposes public education.
Morgan Meyer has consistently voted against public education, which is why he continues to have Greg Abbot’s support.
HPISD Trustees oppose school vouchers.
Project 2025 v. Education
Project 2025 lays out Republican plans to eliminate the department of education, numerous programs aimed at assisting students, and student-loan forgiveness linked to career choices, such as teaching and public service. Needless to say, this will hurt Texans and students across the nation.
Funding isn’t the only issue.
If you’re still confused about Texas public education funding, you’re certainly not alone. Here are some good resources.
Raise Your Hand Texas, a non-profit that supports public education, has created this video to explain Texas school funding.
If you want the down and dirty policy details - here’s the Texas government’s description of school funding. The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) also has an explainer.
HPISD students have taken notice.
Here’s a report on vouchers by one of our brilliant high school students.