House District 86, 87 candidates discuss border, education at candidates forum

The Amarillo League of Women Voters hosted a nonpartisan candidate forum Thursday evening for local races in the Amarillo area including state races and county races.

At the forum, a vast range of races were highlighted, with candidates all being given the same question to answer. Starting out the forum were the candidates for Texas House Districts 86 and 87. Jamie Haynes and Richard Beyea were absent from the forum, with Haynes scheduled to do a solo forum at Trinity Fellowship Church this coming Sunday with no other candidates.

District 87 candidates in attendance were Cindy Bulla, Caroline Fairly, and Jessie Quakenbush, sitting with current 86th District Representative John Smithee. The opening question referenced the most pressing issue for the Texas Panhandle. Bulla emphasized that Texas border security was the most pressing issue for the area. Going along with Bulla, Fairly also said that the border was the top issue for the Texas Panhandle. She said that Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing of migrants to other cities is bringing that issue to blue cities across the nation.

Quakenbush spoke of the divisiveness within the Texas government that is affecting all areas of the state, including the Texas Panhandle. He emphasized that sending candidates well-versed in the law is essential to combat the state's division. Smithee went along with the previous candidates in describing the border as the biggest issue in the area. He praised the efforts of Gov. Abbott in securing a section of the border.

“We have gone from 4,000 to 5,000 people coming across on busy days to only a trickle of three or four per day,” Smithee said. “In the last month since Jan. 11, Texas has gone from number one to number three in illegal immigration."

He said that razor wire has effectively and efficiently reduced illegal immigration.

When the conversation shifted to education, candidates were asked about the lagging salaries for Texas teachers compared to the rest of the nation. At issue was the funding being held up by Gov. Abbott’s push for school vouchers. Vouchers were not brought up as a question due to it being addressed in the voters' guide. Outgoing District 86 Rep. Four Price has been an opponent of school vouchers in the Panhandle region due to its effect on many rural schools in the district, while Fairly’s father, Alex Fairly, has been a staunch advocate for the governors’ voucher proposals for the state that failed to pass in four special sessions last year.

Bulla said that teachers need to be paid better and treated with more respect.

“We cannot paint every school in Texas with the same brush,” Bulla said. "I have visited every public school in my district, and I can tell you they all face different challenges. These challenges lay squarely on the shoulders of these teachers.”

Fairly said the work of teachers impacts the next generation of leaders.

“When you look at the Panhandle, teachers play a crucial role,” Fairly said. "They work hard hours; they work in the summer. We have to support them. We have $6 billion to allocate to them for school funding. We have to pass more raises to our teachers.”

While the state does have the surplus money to spend on teacher raises, much of the funding for that has been held up in an effort to spur support for school vouchers, according to local legislators such as Reps. Smithee and Price and Sen. Kevin Sparks.

When asked how to keep teachers from leaving the profession, Quakenbush said that teachers need to be paid accordingly and given more respect for their important profession.

"If I were a schoolteacher, I would have to wake up every day to a job where you are underappreciated and underpaid, and you cannot even guarantee your safety,” Quakenbush said. “There are just not adequate resources in the schools. ... The first thing we should concentrate on is ensuring people are safe in our schools. We are starting off behind by not paying our teachers enough for decades.”

Early voting for the March primary starts Monday for Potter and Randall counties.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: District 86, 87 candidates discuss border, education at forum