Schools ask Texas lawmakers for help as inflation rises

TYLER — A bill to help funding for public school educators is making its way through the Texas Legislature, but school officials said the bill in it’s current state just isn’t enough. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford was joined by representatives from Alba-Golden, Bullard, Carthage, Cushing, Brownsboro, Lindale, Longview, Mineola, Palestine, Pine Tree, Troup, Tyler, Union Grove and Whitehouse on Monday to call on the legislature to increase public school funding. Sounding what they called a “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” alarm on May 1, the districts urged supporters to contact state lawmakers to support increased school funding. With a month left in the Texas legislative session, public education advocates are asking lawmakers to allocate more of the state’s $32.7 billion surplus to schools. They spoke in support of House Bill 100, relating to the compensation of public school educators and to the operations of public schools, including enrollment-based funding.

“House Bill 100 right now is kind of floating around down there, it looks like that’s the vehicle that needs to happen to improve school funding,” said Dr. Marty Crawford, Tyler ISD Superintendent. Crawford said that while they appreciate the money lawmakers set aside for public education this year, it simply isn’t enough to keep up with inflation.

“As everyone’s been living with here over the last three years, it doesn’t nearly address the inflation that we’re seeing here across our state and across our country,” Crawford said. “While it does put needed dollars back into public ed, right now, the proposal does not meet for the 14.5% inflation inside the basic allotment.”

The focus is on salary increases for teachers and enrollment-based funding. Union Grove Superintendent Kelly Moore says that helps, but they are forgetting about bus drivers, food service workers, and paraprofessionals.

“They are there for the children, every staff member is an educator and they deserve a pay increase as well,” said Kelly Moore, Union Grove Superintendent.

The school district representatives advocated for more pay for teachers and staff alike.

Lindale ISD Superintendent Stan Surratt said, “The teacher shortage is in a crisis mode for the State of Texas. We must improve teacher pay, but also we must improve pay for all school employees.” Surratt also talked about the WADA, or Weighted Average Daily Attendance, which is the figure used in several state funding formulas to calculate the amount of state and local funds to which a district is entitled. “I just say it’s embarrassing that the legislators to talk about a $90 increase in funding per WADA (Weighted Average Daily Attendance), where four years ago they did almost $1,000,” Surrat said.

Crawford said it costs money to transport and feed your children but with prices increasing, it’s hard to keep up without compensation.

He adds if state legislators would allocate more of their $32.7 billion surplus to public schools it would help. According to the Texas Consumer Price Index, from June 2019 to February 2023, inflation in Texas increased by 17%,” according to a release from Tyler ISD. “In 2022, the Legislative Budget Board estimated that current school funding is at 2014 levels when adjusting for inflation. Schools have seen fixed costs such as utilities, insurance, and fuel rise dramatically in the past several years.

The event was held at Davidson Conference Center at 10:30 a.m. Similar events were planned in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, Midland-Odessa and San Antonio.