Against Vouchers
To the editor:
Texas, we have a BIG problem. Very crooked politics are operating right behind our backs. Honest citizens who vote their conscience against school vouchers are being disregarded. We Texans have indicated many times that we do not want our limited funds for education to go to private school vouchers rather than to our already underfunded public schools, which are suffering mightily. A large part of the cause seems to be our Governor Greg Abbott’s hard-headed deliberate refusal to release any of Texas’s $32.7 billion surplus, which is being held hostage over school vouchers. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick contributed significantly to the problem with his property tax rollback in the form of higher homestead exemptions for home owners, without providing any other source of funding for public education. Abbott and Patrick are both among the puppets, financially beholden to a few billionaires who are pulling the strings. Their actions might not be illegal, but they certainly are unethical. And crooked, if you ask me.
The cover of a recent issue of Texas Monthly featured a picture of Tim Dunn, a Midland oil and gas executive who is bankrolling the push for “education savings accounts,” (vouchers), with the aim of diverting public school funding to Christian private schools. The article invited readers to “Meet the billionaire bully who wants to turn Texas into a Christian Theocracy.” The 21page article by Russell Gold was entitled, “The Billionaire Who Runs Texas,” but who mostly operates behind the scenes. I had not heard of him before. In the past two years, Dunn has become the largest source of campaign money in the state by far, designed to steer politics and control politicians.
Another major player is Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania billionaire (whose fortune came from the Chinese company behind TikToc) who has donated more than $209 million to promote “school choice.” Before the March 5 primary he gave $6.25 million to help Abbott unseat Republicans who blocked his voucher-like plan in the Texas House. Yass has spent millions on presidential candidates and other political causes over the years. But why is he messing with Texas schools? I never heard of him before either. And there are others.
I taught for 35+ years in Texas public schools, now retired, and I care a lot about the schools and students. They are struggling mightily to provide students with personnel and programs they need, but their funds are diminishing. Abbott has made no secret about his attempt to dismantle and destroy our Texas public education system. Recent tax changes are undermining public schools. Abbott knows very well that a quality public education system needs adequate funding to succeed. But he’s holding the purse strings on that $32.7 billion surplus “until after education freedom is passed.” He said he will continue the fight for “as long as it takes,” and so opponents can choose “the easy way or the hard way.”
Voucher opponents have not and will not change their minds. Surely we cannot allow these billionaire bullies to undermine the public good. An Austin American-Statesman analysis published in January indicated that, when adjusted for inflation, per student funding from state and local sources is down by 12.9% since 2020. HISD officials say student enrollment has dropped by about 13,000 students in the last four years, resulting in less money from the state, which has not increased its basic allotment of $6,160 per student since 2019. As Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, said, “Our public schools are the bedrock of our communities, and it’s imperative we provide them with the resources they need to thrive.”
I have nothing at all against Christian schools, other kinds of private schools, home schooling or any other kind of schools, “Parents’ Choice.” But if the state is offering vouchers, the funding MUST come from somewhere other than public school funds. Our public schools must be kept healthy and productive for our children. We cannot allow these billionaire bullies to destroy our public education system.