Gov. Greg Abbott took to social media to congratulate Texas House Republicans on their victory, noting that his supporters support school choice.
HOUSTON — Hours after the election, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he believes there is enough support to pass enrollment aid across the state.
Now Houston’s teachers union is concerned.
Abbott took to social media to celebrate Texas House Republicans’ victory and point out that his supporters support school choice. Abbott said he wants to fund both public education and school choice from two different sources.
Not everyone considers this a viable option, and opinions remain divided on the issue.
Governor Abbott said, “Every family in Texas has the right to school choice.”
“It’s going to hit us in a way that people don’t really understand. We’ve never seen this in Texas before,” said Michelle Williams, president of the Houston Education Association.
Governor Abbott has long been a champion of education savings accounts, a voucher program.
If signed into law, millions of K-12 students would have the option of receiving a set amount of tax money each year to attend non-public schools.
Speaking in North Texas on Wednesday morning, Mr. Abbott expressed confidence that the plan would pass following last night’s state election results.
“These candidates won because families in these districts embraced and wanted school choice,” Governor Abbott said.
In 2023, a bipartisan group of state representatives defeated the idea of a voucher program during the legislative session.
This refusal also increased teacher salaries and base quotas. The base allocation is the amount of money that Texas gives per student to state-funded school districts to provide education.
For Williams, losing students is a concern.
“That’s going to hit us because we’re already in a fiscal crisis with the state takeover. We currently have a budget deficit of $423 million,” Williams said.
The next session of the Texas Legislature will be approximately two months later, on January 14, 2025.
“Public schools will be devastated,” Williams said.
“The reality is that we have the best public schools in America, and we also have school choice,” Governor Abbott said.
Mr. Abbott said he was confident he had 79 votes for the program in the Texas House of Representatives, more than the 76 he needed.
Meanwhile, Williams has expressed concern not only for Houston ISD, but also for the future of local school districts if vouchers are passed.
