Texas House Democrats unveil school funding bill with $15K teacher bonuses; roadblocks ahead

Texas House Democrats are throwing their weight behind an education funding bill that would give teachers a $15,000 bonus and increase per-student school funding by almost $2,800 — a massive package that could likely go nowhere this special session.

House Bill 177 is meant to foil Gov. Greg Abbott’s push for school choice, a program that would use public money to help pay for eligible students' private schooling or other education-related costs.

While Democrats have said a significant education funding boost is needed to give public schools more resources, Abbott has signaled that he has no interest in signing an education funding package into law until after lawmakers pass school choice in Texas. Previous school choice proposals have died in the House, and the lower chamber's Democrats have said they remain steadfast in their opposition.

Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, who on Thursday introduced HB 177, said her proposal would give schools an infusion of much-needed funding. It was not clear Thursday how much the proposal would cost as no fiscal note was attached to the bill.

“It’s time we stop paying just lip service to teachers and start paying them their actual worth,” Hinojosa said.

HB 177 would increase per-student funding by $2,787 — from $6,160 to $8,947. State money allocated to districts per student is the building block for the state’s public education funding formula. Hinojosa’s bill also proposes to make increases to per-student funding when inflation rises.

The bill would give teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses a one-time $15,000 bonus and $5,000 for some other nonadministrative employees. It would also inject more state money into special education and security costs to help fill the gap between what districts spent on those items and what the state gave them.

Is Texas HB 177 likely to pass?

During an event last week with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, Abbott insisted he wouldn’t expand the parameters for which he called the special session to include school funding until after lawmakers passed his signature priority: education savings accounts.

More: Some Texas GOP lawmakers say governor's primary threats won't sway them on school choice

“Once ESAs are passed, I will put on the legislative call the full funding of public education, including teacher pay raises for teachers across the state of Texas,” Abbott said.

The Texas Senate on Oct. 12 passed a $500 million education savings account proposal — Senate Bill 1, which would make $8,000 in state funding available for every eligible student to be used toward private school tuition or other education costs. The bill's author, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, estimated that it would help 60,000 of the state's 5.5 million students in public schools.

SB 1 has now moved to the House, but members haven’t signaled that they’re close to reaching the votes needed in the lower chamber to pass the school choice proposal.

The House would need 76 votes to pass an education savings account bill, Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, who chairs the Texas Legislative Black Caucus said Monday during the state's NAACP annual convention.

“Right now, they don’t have it,” Reynolds said. “They don’t have anywhere near close to it.”

Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, on Thursday reiterated Reynolds’ comments and insisted the legislative coalition against school choice, which includes Democrats and some rural Republicans, would “stand strong.”

He also criticized Abbott for making investments in education funding a prisoner of school choice.

“The governor has taken hostages in his attempt to pass his private school voucher scheme and those hostages are our kids,” Talarico said. “No kids. No bribes. No deal.”

Despite the limited scope of Abbott’s special session call — passing school choice, strengthening border security and restricting COVID-19 vaccine mandates — the Senate on Oct. 12 also advanced a $5.2 billion school funding proposal.

SB 2 offers much less money in comparison to the House Democrats' proposal. The Senate bill would deliver a $75 increase to per-student spending and offer $3,000 teacher bonuses. SB 2 also doubles security spending from $10 per student to $20 and $15,000 per campus to $30,000.

The House Education Committee as of Thursday had yet to meet, a necessary first step to passing school-related legislation.

Abbott has threatened to call lawmakers back for a fourth special session if they don’t pass an expansive school choice bill. He has also threatened to throw his support behind opponents of Republican lawmakers who vote against a school choice bill.

Before calling a third special session this year, Abbott called two special sessions over the summer for lawmakers to work together to pass the state's biggest property tax in history — an $18 billion package meant to drive down local tax rates and help homeowners pay less on their properties.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature: House Democrats unveil school funding bill