Issue Position: Public Education

Issue Position

The 86th Legislature passed monumental school finance reform, a direct result of the 2018 election and the voices of teachers, parents, and school officials expressing the need to better fund our public schools. Highlights from HB 3, the school finance bill, include:

* Increases the basic allotment, per student funding, from $5,140 to $6,160
* Guarantees pay raises for teachers and other school employees
* Provides for full-day Pre-K for all qualifying 4-year-olds
* Decreases property tax rates
* No voucher program debated or passed

While this was a great achievement, it was merely a step forward, with more work to be done in the next Legislative Session. Here are my priorities going forward:

* Develop a sustainable revenue stream from a variety of sources that would allow for continued investment in our children even during the current economic downturn.
* Maintain teacher pay raises to ensure we have the best and brightest teaching our next generation.
* More training to prepare our teachers to deliver the best education for our students with disabilities.
* Improve equity in schools.
* Require high school students to complete at least one semester of personal financial literacy. I passed a bill adding this requirement last session, but the bill stalled out in the Senate. I plan to continue this effort.

I was a part of the House Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Public Education in the 86th Session, and I plan to continue to work on public education issues in the 87th Legislative Session.

COVID-19 has created many challenges for our schools, some of which may need to be addressed through legislation. For example, COVID-19 has made funding based on average daily attendance unrealistic with students having to stay home from mid-March through the end of the school year. Looking forward to next school year, a better way to fund schools would be based on enrollment.

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