This homeschool dad backs school choice, but not if it hurts Texas public education | Opinion
Education vital
As a homeschool dad and supporter of school choice, I believe expanding educational options for Texas families is the right move. However, school choice should not come at the expense of our public schools, which remain the backbone of our communities.
Public school funding hasn’t been updated since 2019, while inflation has driven up costs. In Birdville ISD, the state’s buying power has dropped by $1,340 per student, and the district faces a $14.5 million special education shortfall. At the same time, new state mandates require schools to spend more while receiving less.
Lawmakers must ensure that as school choice expands, our public schools remain financially stable. We can support parental choice while also fully funding our schools, increasing local control and stopping unfunded mandates. Texas doesn’t have to choose between the two — we can get this right.
- Blake Vaughn, North Richland Hills
Voters’ say
Let Texas voters decide the fate of school vouchers. Our public education system is a great success that has served us well for many years. Just think how much it could be improved if the $1 billion the Legislature wants to spend on vouchers for private schools, which can pick and choose which students to accept, were instead put into public schools.
I realize that some schools are not performing as well as others, but I think we would get more bang for our buck by spending more on public schools.
Why does a handful of politicians get to choose what to do with that school tax money? Have a special election or a voter referendum.
- Doug Taylor, Willow Park
Keller’s split
It seems obvious that the Keller school board wants to split the district for socioeconomic reasons to try and create a rich, elite district. (Feb. 11, star-telegram.com, “North Fort Worth neighborhood forms legal fund to fight Keller school district split”) It also appears that a small group is behind it all. Meanwhile, we have seen the value of our house drop by almost $25,000 in just a few weeks, according to Opendoor. It’s mind-boggling that the board could have authority to do this.
Board members were elected by residents and should answer to the majority vote. They don’t own the schools. Legislators need to change the rules now to prevent a split without an election. Surely this action would initiate several class-action lawsuits.
- Ron and Leslie Fox, Keller
Up to Congress
Texas Sen. John Cornyn has defended Elon Musk’s mission of finding fraud in the federal government. That goal is completely justifiable. What is completely unjustifiable and even unconstitutional is Musk stopping funding for the United States Agency for International Development, an organization saving people’s lives, and other Congress-approved government funding for organizations.
Musk should be making recommendations to Congress and letting lawmakers decide what’s funded. Do your job, Sen. Cornyn. Strip out all the waste and fraud found by Musk, but do it by exercising your power of the purse.
- Larry Evans, Fort Worth
Fix the jails
Thank you for your excellent article covering the Feb. 6 meeting of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. (Feb. 9, 11A, “Families, activists ask state to deem Tarrant County out of compliance for jail deaths”) It was a little disingenuous of the commission’s director to imply that the agency cannot lobby the Legislature for changes to laws. Agencies approach legislators all the time with their own agendas. My first bill to hit the floor of the Texas House was legislation to clean up a badly written section of state insurance laws.
The jail standards commission is not doing its job to protect innocent people wrongfully incarcerated in our county jail. The same is true of our county commissioners, the Fort Worth police chief and the Fort Worth City Council.
Please continue your excellent coverage of these failures in government.
- Lon Burnam, former state representative, Fort Worth