Rally for Public Schools - October 6, 2023

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MrNastyOne@reddit

Does anyone know her position on school vouchers? What does she plan to vote during the special session?

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I'm fairly certain she's pro voucher. The reason I say that is she's a Republican in the suburbs which means there are plenty of non public school options to send kids to. The coalition that so far opposes vouchers are rural Republicans and democrats. However, I was at a Dallas County meeting for the Democratic Party recently and there was talk of some democrats supporting vouchers. People requested to know which of the democratic representatives were on the fence but no one would answer that question. It was really frustrating. But if you want to register your opinion with Chen Button, you could send her a letter saying that you do not support the educational savings accounts if that is your position. Or you do support them if you do. Either way, it's always a good thing to let your reps know how you feel about an issue whether they agree with you or not.

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MrNastyOne@reddit

Thank you for your reply. I don't support vouchers on the principle that public funds should not be used for private use. And I especially hate the governor blackmailing the state reps into voting for vouchers by tying teacher salary raises to it. [Here's an interesting article about Texas school funding from Texas Monthly magazine this summer. Those REALLY rural schools have it tough.](https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/rural-school-districts-are-facing-financial-ruin-some-state-officials-prefer-it-that-way/)

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BucketofWarmSpit@reddit (OP)

I thought that was how you felt but sometimes I assume too much.

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notstylishyet@reddit

Angie Chen Button has a very high amount of Charter School students in her district that do very well, not in the interest of her district to vote against school choice.

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IAmSoUncomfortable@reddit

How would vouchers/ESAs affect charter students?

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SaltySaltFace42@reddit

Who would show up for this? Vouchers seem like a great idea for people stuck in a shitty district

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BlueKnight8907@reddit

Then those people can use their own money to move their kid elsewhere. Our tax dollars are supposed to go back to public services such as public school instead of private entities.

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Exit_Goodbye@reddit

So…Fuck all those kids who are stuck in their districts? The idea is to elevate all public schools. But it’s really difficult when the local politicians keep siphoning funding out of schools amongst other things to undermine the free and available education for all.

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notstylishyet@reddit

Public education funding has increased year over year well above inflation. And funding in attendance based. It doesn’t make logical sense why schools need to collect funding for students who no longer attend their school.

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Exit_Goodbye@reddit

I mean, the way schools get funded in the first place is rather fucked too.

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notstylishyet@reddit

The attendance based funding? Lol should schools be funded equally regardless of size? We do local funding with state equalization because it incentivizes parents to be involved in their children’s education with is the best indicator of a child’s success in school. Robin Hood plays a huge part in helping our system be more equitable and the big cities (Dallas, Austin, Houston) loathe it. The system itself isn’t bad, it’s quite good but the problem is Texans general aversion to paying higher taxes across the board that are needed to fund our schools well. Also our massive impoverished undocumented child problem that puts a financial burden on schools.

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Exit_Goodbye@reddit

Regardless of funding, if there are shitty school districts, then from the most basic level, students are not getting what they need. Period. So, whether it’s amount of funding or how it’s distributed, the money isn’t working. Taking your kid and putting them in a better school district is not going to help in the long run, because society is only as good as its worst. So yeah, your kid is in a better school district but then you’ve got so many kids who weren’t properly educated in your community. How does that help?

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notstylishyet@reddit

You’re making the assumption that student performance is directly tied to money which is not the case. Many poor rural districts do very well. Schools need a base level of funding to unlock potential sure but there isn’t a correlation between money beyond that and student performance. Throwing money at problems doesn’t solve them. Funding in Texas is relatively aligned with cost of living and the average school gets like $11k per student with the metro schools getting closer to $16k. Also taking your kid out of a poor school into a better one 100% does help them in the long run. Are you willing to take your kid out of school right now and put them in the worst school in town? Obviously not nor should you. It may not solve the broad structural problem of inadequate schools but it definitely does help kids at the individual level, especially those in failing schools today. And why should parents be waiting for the structural fix? We should keep telling parents that they should wait and wait for their schools to get better when they never do?

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Exit_Goodbye@reddit

I’m actually not tying student performance to money at all. I specifically said funding is only a small sliver of the problem. How students are assessed, NCLB, teacher preparation, following up with data, and the business of education and the flow of funding all play a part. 100% throwing money does not solve problems. Standardized tests and graduation rates are a crock of shit. Saying we fund schools well and rural schools do great but end up 46th place out of 50 for adult functional literacy is a fucking shame.

Rally for Public Schools - October 6, 2023

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16 Comments

MrNastyOne@reddit

BucketofWarmSpit@reddit (OP)

MrNastyOne@reddit

BucketofWarmSpit@reddit (OP)

notstylishyet@reddit

IAmSoUncomfortable@reddit

SaltySaltFace42@reddit

BlueKnight8907@reddit

Exit_Goodbye@reddit

notstylishyet@reddit

Exit_Goodbye@reddit

notstylishyet@reddit

Exit_Goodbye@reddit

notstylishyet@reddit

Exit_Goodbye@reddit

BucketofWarmSpit@reddit (OP)