Stop school vouchers as we believe they divert essential funding away from public schools, potentially undermining the quality of education provided to the majority of students. This would include traditional vouchers, education savings accounts, taxpayer savings grants, tax credits, special education vouchers, and any other means of diverting public tax dollars away from public education.

While we support a parent’s right to choose a private school or homeschool education for their child – at their own discretion and not using taxpayer dollars – we believe that, for the vast majority of students, strong public schools and robust public school choice programs such as magnet schools, career and technical programs, and innovative academic and career pathways are the surest path to success.

Increases to the Basic Allotment, teacher pay raises, and other school finance changes – should not be tied to passage of a voucher bill.

Spring ISD is advocating for a boost in the Basic Allotment, taking into account the rising expenses faced by school districts over the past four years. These rising expenses encompass not only the academic catch-up required by students in the pandemic's aftermath, but also managing inflation-induced costs. The effects of inflation touch not just the personal living expenses of our staff and district families, but also districtwide operating costs, including fuel, utilities, and other essential supplies and services.

Tax funds designated for education should exclusively benefit public schools that operate under transparent accountability systems. Channeling these funds to institutions that lack taxpayer accountability depletes vital resources from public school settings, impacts the capacity of districts to compensate their educators and staff, and diminishes clarity in the allocation of public funds. Spring ISD stands against any initiatives to employ public tax dollars for voucher schemes.

• Basic Allotment: Adjust the Basic Allotment to reflect inflation since 2019 and align the Basic Allotment with ongoing inflation rates. Raise the Basic Allotment to $8000 per student to give every district in Texas the opportunity to accommodate rising costs, including staff salary increases which should also address the teacher shortage.

• Fund on Enrollment: For more reliable and predictable funding, base state funding on a district’s enrollment rather than on Average Daily Attendance. School districts have incurred costs whether the student is in class or not. Texas is only one of seven districts that does not fund public schools based on enrollment.

• Special Education: Base Special Education funding on the services rendered to students rather than preset instructional plans, and revise the funding metrics to mirror the genuine service costs. Fully fund the cost of testing students for special education.

• Pre-K Funding: Fully fund PK because as of today, PK is only funded for half a day. Districts, including Spring ISD, that cater to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or even severe poverty, emphasize the need to enroll these children in Pre-K by the age of three to build the foundation for later success. Early Pre-K enrollment significantly enhances their academic prospects and achievements in the long run.

• Transportation: Increase the allotment available to districts for hazardous routes as urban districts have many areas that require additional transportation support. Increase the reimbursement rate for each mile to ensure districts can adequately fund safe and reliable student transportation.

• Empower districts to set local guidelines for remediation strategies for students who fall short in state assessments.

• Enhance the state’s school evaluation system to encompass more diverse and relevant data for a holistic view of school performance.

• Monitor unfunded mandates that strain our school’s financial resources and allocate sustainable funding strategies for HB 3 & 1416.

• Additional funding to support high-performing teachers through the state's Teacher Incentive Allotment.

• Adequately fund the School Safety Allotment and increase local flexibility to allow school districts to meet the safety needs of their students, staff, and local campuses.