Retired Teachers Visit The Texas State Capitol

On Feb. 23, retired teachers from District 13 Fayette County visited their legislators at the state capitol.

Karen Fitch, Legislative Chair for the unit, and Cheryl Holt, TRTA member, first visited with Rep. Stan Kitzman. In the absence of Senator Lois Kolkhorst, they visited with Alison Brock. Alison is the Education Policy Advisor for Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who was at committee meetings.

The message for all legislators for 2023, from all Texas Retired Teachers’ Associations, is “Raise the Base!” The 2023 Legislative Agenda should include, in part, the following: increasing the pension fund’s state/employer rate to provide affordable health care for retirees by increasing the base funding for TRSCare, and to provide a benefit increase for retirees who retired before 2018. It should be noted that there has not been a COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) for any retiree in over 20 years.

Meeting with the legislators gave an opportunity to express concerns, and to become familiar with the layout of the capitol building, which will be revisited on Wednesday, April 12. This date is designated as “Day at the Capitol,” when retired teachers from all over the state will meet with their legislators, be present at a House of Representatives Gallery Session, and be present at a Senate Gallery Session. The day will conclude with a rally on the Capitol steps.

For further information about this event, and for information about the Fayette County RTA, contact (713) 303-0837, or visit www.localunits. org/fayette.