Tyler ISD reacts to $8.5 billion for education
Posted/updated on: May 25, 2025 at 4:56 pm
TYLER — East Texas will benefit from $8.5 billion in new state money once House Bill 2 is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.
“The new legislation is a huge win for East Texas,” Tyler ISD’s Superintendent of Schools, Marty Crawford said after HB2 passed the Texas Senate on Friday.
The district will be able to get more money for teacher incentive payments to make sure that their students are getting the very best educators once HB2 becomes law.
“It’s been a lot of work, and we’re very appreciative of everything they’ve done down there in Austin,” Crawford said. “We’re very excited and very appreciative of the work that they’ve done to get us to this point. We think that what they’ve been able to do for us is to carve out some efficiencies for us internally here locally, that we’ll be able to handle it appropriately as we go on.”
The $430 million that’s allotted for school safety in HB2 is helping the district ensure the peace of mind of students and parents. Tyler ISD may also be able to help out staff that aren’t teachers.
“It’s still pretty fresh and all the nuances will be coming into play on this. Certainly, a lot of the allotments that are in there now will let us take care of some of these fixed costs that we have,” Crawford said. “There is a little bit of flexibility in there also, to where we can take care of some of our other educators that aren’t teachers. In other words, the bus drivers, the custodial staff, and the food service staff being able to do that is going to be imperative for us to go forward, because everybody’s trying to make a living. They’re in this wonderful profession of K-12 education in Texas, and I think that they’re going to be very happy with what we’re going to be able to put together as far as a compensation package, this next budget.”
House Bill 2 has been approved in the Senate with changes that will have to be approved by the house before the bill can be signed into law.
“It’s going to be a big win for Tyler ISD. It’s going to be an even bigger win for all of East Texas,” Crawford said. “It’s got to be approved. Then we’ve got to get it with our financial folks to see how much of an increase that’s going to be for Tyler ISD.”
