On Friday Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and Speaker Joe Straus received a letter signed by nine members of the State Board of Education (SBOE) encouraging the Legislature to pass a resolution allowing the public to vote on a constitutional amendment that would transfer $1 billion each year of the biennium to fund public education.
Six of the more conservative members of the SBOE did not sign the letter.
Here is the full text of the letter as posted on the Texas Tribune website:
We, the undersigned members of the State Board of Education, express our support for allowing Texans the opportunity to vote for a transfer of $1 billion per year from the Permanent School Fund for the sole purpose of minimizing reductions in the Foundation School Program during the next biennium. This one-time funding mechanism would be in addition to our normal anticipated contribution to the Available School Fund during the next biennium.
In the spirit of Rosie the Riveter, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and do our part to meet the current funding challenge and support those on the “front line” of our public schools. We know our schools cannot provide the best education for our students without quality teachers and up-to-date instructional materials. This $2 billion equates to approximately 40,000 teaching jobs as well as full funding for the instructional materials allotment provided for in HB 6/SB 6. It is our hope that this will also help alleviate the need for school districts to raise local school district property taxes to meet this need.
We encourage the House and Senate to pass the necessary joint resolutions allowing Texas voters to stand with us and say “Together, We Can Do It!”
It was signed by: Lawrence Allen, Mary Helen Berlanga, George Clayton, Bob Craig, Marsha Farney, Patricia Hardy, Mavis Knight, Thomas Ratliff, and Michael Soto.
Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) released the following statement upon receiving the letter from SBOE members:
“I appreciate efforts to find ways to minimize the impact of a difficult budget situation on our public schools. As members of the House learned during our budget deliberations, there are no easy answers.”
“Texas has a long history of protecting our permanent school endowment funds, and I’m concerned that using those constitutionally-protected funds in the short-term could threaten the future needs of our growing student population.”
“The House looks forward to working with the Senate to find other ways to balance the state budget while prioritizing public education.”