Wednesday afternoon, the Texas House approved a massive school finance package, nearly $8 billion more in funding towards neighborhood schools. It was approved by the Texas House 144 to 4 and now heads to the Texas Senate.
That chamber has a different version for school finance. Intense negotiations are expected in the coming weeks to hash out the differences. A final version must pass before the end of May.
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WATCH HEREThe proposal may also be sidetracked by a more controversial measure to allow families to use public school money on private and home schools. A similar idea was rejected by a bipartisan coalition in the Texas House two years ago and tanked the school finance bill along with it.
This year, Speaker Dustin Burrows told 온라인카지노사이트 5 he believes both will pass. HB 2 is the culmination of work so far by Public Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley, R - Salado, and Vice Chair Diego Bernal, D - San Antonio.
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SIGN UP “Texas public schools are the backbone of our communities, and today the House delivered a historic investment to bolster public education for the next generation,” said Speaker Burrows after the vote, “House Bill 2 lays the foundation for a modernized, responsive school finance system that will grow with the needs of Texas students."
The bill includes $3 billion to increase the per-student "basic allotment" and increase teacher and staff pay. Roughly $1 billion would go to rural and mid-sized schools. $1.5 billion is earmarked for special education funding. Another $1.5 billion would go to expand Pre-K and bilingual education.
Before the vote, Burrows, Bernal, and Buckley held a press conference with several superintendents to promote the bill.
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“This may be one of the most if not the most consequential bills of the session," said Speaker Burrows.
Throughout the day, public school advocates chanted throughout the halls of the capitol, hoping to keep public schools top of mind for lawmakers.
On the House floor, there were several brief moments of tension. Dome democrats were concerned that this new money still did not keep up with inflation and costs from six years ago.
“Will this bill catch us up to 2019 funding levels? That’s a yes or no question," Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, asked Rep. Brad Buckley, R - Salado.
“I believe that this is a bipartisan effort to close the gap," responded Buckley.
“I’m going to take that as a No until I get a Yes," said Talarico. Cheer and grumbling followed throughout the chamber until the Speaker of the House called on the chamber audience to calm down.
Despite some disagreements over specific wording and details, the first major school funding bill in years cleared the major hurdle.
