Or not.
Just received this from our district Superintendent.
Dear Northside Community,
As you may know, the Texas Legislature meets every other year for 140 days. I am disappointed to report that this year’s regular legislative session ended on Monday and included:
Our children deserve to learn in safe environments that include all necessary resources to ensure academic growth and success. Likewise, our teachers and staff deserve to be treated as professionals and compensated as such. Failing to adequately fund public education remains disheartening.
Although many lawmakers tried to allocate resources supporting public education, their bills either died in the process or were held hostage by school voucher provisions. School vouchers, or “education savings accounts/ESAs,” funnel public money to private schools and lack accountability to the taxpayer or community. Lawmakers have consistently blocked voucher bills for decades, and did so again this year. I expect that sometime this summer or fall, the Governor of Texas may call a special legislative session to address vouchers and any attempts to invest in public education will likely be tied to that agenda once again. Under no circumstance should school funding be dependent on the passage of a voucher bill. I encourage state leaders to remain thoughtful in their approach to supporting and resourcing public education.
As always, I recommend that you communicate your expectations, thoughts, and concerns with your elected officials. Visit https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home to find out who represents you. You may also find a complete list of State Senators and their contact information at https://senate.texas.gov/members.php, and a complete list of the members of the House of Representatives at https://house.texas.gov/members/.
Please know that I will always advocate on behalf of our Northside ISD community, and will continue to engage in the legislative process to support public education.
Thank you,
John M. Craft, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Northside Independent School District
Just received this from our district Superintendent.
Dear Northside Community,
As you may know, the Texas Legislature meets every other year for 140 days. I am disappointed to report that this year’s regular legislative session ended on Monday and included:
- Insufficient funding for school safety measures;
- No funding dedicated to staff pay increases;
- No increase to the Basic Allotment (the foundation funding used to support public schools and classrooms).
Our children deserve to learn in safe environments that include all necessary resources to ensure academic growth and success. Likewise, our teachers and staff deserve to be treated as professionals and compensated as such. Failing to adequately fund public education remains disheartening.
Although many lawmakers tried to allocate resources supporting public education, their bills either died in the process or were held hostage by school voucher provisions. School vouchers, or “education savings accounts/ESAs,” funnel public money to private schools and lack accountability to the taxpayer or community. Lawmakers have consistently blocked voucher bills for decades, and did so again this year. I expect that sometime this summer or fall, the Governor of Texas may call a special legislative session to address vouchers and any attempts to invest in public education will likely be tied to that agenda once again. Under no circumstance should school funding be dependent on the passage of a voucher bill. I encourage state leaders to remain thoughtful in their approach to supporting and resourcing public education.
As always, I recommend that you communicate your expectations, thoughts, and concerns with your elected officials. Visit https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home to find out who represents you. You may also find a complete list of State Senators and their contact information at https://senate.texas.gov/members.php, and a complete list of the members of the House of Representatives at https://house.texas.gov/members/.
Please know that I will always advocate on behalf of our Northside ISD community, and will continue to engage in the legislative process to support public education.
Thank you,
John M. Craft, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Northside Independent School District
