When she first began teaching 13 years ago, Katrina Rasmussen, a studio art teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in the Dallas Independent School District, sai
Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don't miss our weekly town hall.Protesters hold signs and chant during a rally against school vouchers at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special lawmaking session on vouchers and other topics, slated to begin Monday.
Texas teachers — whose average salaries are $7,652 less than the national average, according to the National Education Association — were the only state employees who didn’t receive a raise during this year’s regular legislative session. “If it comes down to it, and it’s vouchers or being able to stay in the job that I care about — unfortunately, I'm gonna have to leave,” Rasmussen said. “That’s not a compromise that I can make values-wise.”Many teachers disagree with the idea of using taxpayer dollars to fund private education — and potentially diverting funding from public schools.
The basic allotment — the amount of money the state gives school for each student — was last raised in 2020 to $6,160. Public school advocates say that amount has not kept up with inflation. School voucher advocates, however, argue that parents’ ability to choose a different school for their child should not be limited by socioeconomic status. Parents should be free to pick the public or private school that best fits their child, said Mandy Drogin, campaign director of an education initiative for the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation.
But opponents of the bill argue that $8,000 would not cover full tuition at many private schools. The average cost of private education in Texas is $10,400, according to the Education Data Initiative. “You will often hear doctors and therapists outside of the district referring their people to come to the public education setting because we have the best services for the students,” Borrego said.
Kristen Harris, a humanities teacher in the gifted and talented program at Walnut Grove High School in Prosper ISD, said it felt like “a slap in the face” when lawmakers did not grant teachers raises this year. Still, Harris said she would not support a bill tying salary raises with a voucher program, and neither would many of her colleagues.
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