Advocacy

1/14/2021 10:43 am

The 87th session of the Texas State Legislative session began this past Tuesday. Public education is always on the agenda!

SBISD recapture dollars are estimated to be $37M this year – in 2019, it was over $84M! This is a direct effect of HB3.

SBISD is also proposing a TAX RATE DECREASE – another direct effect of HB3. The more the state funds public education, the more SBISD tax dollars stay with SBISD. Public school funding is by no means ‘fixed’ with HB3, as it's only funded for 2 years. And we still have a long way to climb to even be in the top half of the nation in funding our public schools.

State funding of our schools is tied to attendance. Overall attendance across the state has decreased because of the pandemic. The State agreed to ignore this decrease for the first 18 weeks of school and fully fund our schools. HOWEVER, they have not extended this "hold harmless" beyond those first 18 weeks. As of right now, the Governor (or the TEA) has not assured ISD's of their full funding for the year (20-21) as funding in Texas is tied to attendance. SBISD could lose more than $2.5M THIS SCHOOL YEAR. Texas public schools must be held harmless in this instance.

Texas PTA made it easy to send a letter to your legislator:

https://www.txpta.org/take-action

As parents, students and teachers we are all advocates and there are many resources to help us!

ACTION ALERT

Students are still giving 100% during COVID-19, so should the state!

Texas PTA has joined with 22 other organizations asking Gov. Abbott to assure 100% ADA funding for the remainder of this school year. Funding would extend to both virtual and in-person learning. We strongly recommend that TEA guidance include a floor for ADA that does not allow any school district to fall below their final ADA count for the 2019-2020 school year.

The state gave funding assurance for the first 18 weeks of school but has yet to make a decision on the remaining weeks that follow winter break. The pandemic has yet to subside and attendance is still declining, yet the needs of our school districts are still great. A decrease in funding may lead to layoffs and impact the resources students rely upon every day.

We encourage our members to help us #FundTheFuture by contacting your legislators today. Follow this link to easily contact your legislators:

Take Action

Let's get to know a few of our new stakeholders in the Capital!

First, congratulations to Will Hickman (SBISD parent) for his victory in the race for TX State Board of Education. Will is already reaching out to SBISD and eager to get started. To learn more about what the Texas State Board of Education is about visit: https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/leadership/state-board-of-education

Second, SBISD has new legislators! It will be time to update your rolodex. As soon as their new offices are set up, I will send out contact information. Anyone interested in meetings with these individuals prior to the start of the session, please let me know.

State Reps:

Lacy Hull (Dwayne Bohac retired) District 138 this district covers 4 school districts, most notable SBISD 42% and CFISD 14%

Penny Shaw (Jessica Farrar retired) District 148 - SBISD 20%, HISD 10%

Ann Johnson (v Sarah Davis) District 134 - SBISD 2%, HISD 12%

Returning: Jim Murphy District 133 - SBISD 36% and HISD 8%

In case you missed it:

The district’s tax rate has been reduced from $1.32098 last year to $1.30730. This represents the lowest SBISD tax rate since 2007-08. See attached for more info.