What would you call it when since 2019 the cost of goods (a CPI comparison) rose 50% while the public ed ADA funding dictated by the state increased 0%?

oldag941 said:

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What would you call it when since 2019 the cost of goods (a CPI comparison) rose 50% while the public ed ADA funding dictated by the state increased 0%?

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Are you under the false impression that private sector pay has increased significantly?

Is that a question or a statement? I know what the engineering industry is doing and what the public accounting industry is doing. I know where minimum wage is and what I see advertised for hourly jobs. I see what I pay for electricians and plumbers, and landscapers and house cleaners. Based on all of that, yes, I see increasing compensation.

Completely agree.

oldag941 said:

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The crazy part is yes, the state spends more on education than ever before. But at the same time, not an extra dollar has gone to the school district, campus or classroom since 2019. So yes and yes. Our district also has to pay over $2.5 million back to the state on top of that, due to robin hood / recapture. Some districts like Plano send over $100 million back in robin hood WHILE having a $27 mil operating budget deficit. Isn't that special?

The funding formula is so complicated both sides of this funding issue can actually be somewhat accurate while arguing opposite sides. So messed up.

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Robin Hood needs to go, but no district should receive state or federal funding if they spend money on football and other athletic stadiums. If that's their priority, they obviously have plenty of money.

Again, the money for buildings, stadiums, busses are voted on by voters in the district. It is not supplied by the state and state funds cannot be used.

There is a whole lot of good for kids generated through bond issuance. I don't see any way this funding source is ever changed.

As an aside, I worked in a very large district in Texas. 88% and likely more now of our operating budget went to salaries. There was not a lot of fat. After the salaries, busses still need fuel, buildings still need repair and most importantly teaching materials are needed.

oldag941 said:

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Is that a question or a statement? I know what the engineering industry is doing and what the public accounting industry is doing. I know where minimum wage is and what I see advertised for hourly jobs. I see what I pay for electricians and plumbers, and landscapers and house cleaners. Based on all of that, yes, I see increasing compensation.

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The data disagrees with you.

The median household income adjusted for inflation was $81,200 in 2019. It dropped each year to $77,500 by 2022, a 4.5% reduction. In 2023, it rose again to $80,600, which is still a drop of almost 1% percent relative to 2019. We don't have 2024 data yet.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N

Last push this morning - it's not too late to call.

If you don't want to pay for K-12 education at least twice, if you don't want our tax burden to continue to grow, if you care about true freedom and choice, if you expect your elected representative to actually represent you and not bow to the governor, if you like small government…then you'll make the call and ask your Rep to vote AGAINST SB2.

This is bigger than the topic of vouchers and school "choice"; this is about our ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES actually representing US.

https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home

Ok, data...."median household income" vs. "real household income". Income has gone up 17% from '19 to '23 (end of the data available). Adjusted for inflation gets you to "median household income" and the drop of 1% from '19 to '23. Yes, income has increase dramatically. But it hasn't increased to a level to eclipse inflation. Look at the site you sent and all of the other graphs and ways they track income.

oldag941 said:

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Is that a question or a statement? I know what the engineering industry is doing and what the public accounting industry is doing. I know where minimum wage is and what I see advertised for hourly jobs. I see what I pay for electricians and plumbers, and landscapers and house cleaners. Based on all of that, yes, I see increasing compensation.

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I can assure you, it is not the case across the board. People who do not work for the government are still hurting, while the cost of goods has increased significantly. I think I have gotten a 2% raise in the last 4 years. I am still thankful that I have a job.

Sorry to hear about the raise situation but glad you are still employed. That's why the data is only 1 point of comparison but then anecdotes and personal experiences help paint the entire picture. There will always be industries and jobs that pay well (and give raises) and those that don't. So decisions are made on the "median" or "average" etc. This is a great supporting discussion for public ed funding. Teacher salaries.....0% raise in 6 years. Where there have been raises, it's the local leadership that committed to raises while managing a deficit budget (likely using a fund balance while it exists). This was absolutely necessary as a pipeline of teachers is constricting and while living in hyper-competitive markets where there are tons of jobs within commuting distance. Local leaders have done all of this in spite of any state leadership.

Trump urges Texas House to pass school vouchers.

Betsy DeVos says "Thank you Mr President!!!"

Schrute Farms said:

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Conservatives/Libertarians oppose it because it introduces government control to private schools. State funding, like vouchers, are a direct way to tie gov preferences to the private sector.

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This! My best friend is a teacher in the La Porte Independent School District and a Republican, and he thinks it's ok to leave education up to the state. But he doesn't like how Governor Greg Abbott is trying to give vouchers to private schools instead of public schools. His wife is a teacher in the Pasadena School District, and she said her campus will cut 5 positions, which means larger classrooms. Controlling student behavior is already difficult, and it will become even harder with larger classrooms.

DD88 said:

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Trump urges Texas House to pass school vouchers.

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The Collective said:

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The fact that no one can clearly articulate a logical plan and how it makes sense tells me all I need to know about this crap

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All by design. I do not believe Brad Buckley is for school choice, no matter what he tells you. His wife is the deputy superintendent of Killeen ISD.

PGAG said:

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As an aside, this is my opinion on the current state of public education. We are not attracting quality teaching candidates for two reasons. One is most definitely pay. Teacher salary is no longer a good living wage. Second and maybe most importantly, the general public would be shocked to see the red tape, behaviors and parent issues that teachers are required to navigate. If you want better public schools, fix pay and working conditions. You'll attract better teachers and better results will follow.

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Completely disagree on your first reason. Starting teacher salary in Dallas ISD is $61k, $62k if you have a bachelors degree.

The second reason is the real culprit. The red tape, the parents, the behavioral issues with students, they all create a working environment teachers view as hostile and not worth tolerating after a few years.

You are correct. Over 50% of teachers leave the profession within 5 years

He's selling it on the house floor now. Sure sounds like he's all in.

DISD is moving to starting pay at $64k for next year.

oldag941 said:

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He's selling it on the house floor now. Sure sounds like he's all in.

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It's so hard to listen to these canned questions. Makes my skin crawl. How stupid do they think we are?

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Completely disagree on your first reason. Starting teacher salary in Dallas ISD is $61k, $62k if you have a bachelors degree.

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Depending on your district, those may not be decent salaries. My wife taught in Spring Branch ISD and had a short commute to her school because we lived in the district due to my salary. Nearly all of the teachers at the school lived well outside the district and commuted in because they couldn't afford to live in Spring Branch ISD.

Edit-Spring Branch ISD in Houston.

Ellis Wyatt said:

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The Collective said:

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The fact that no one can clearly articulate a logical plan and how it makes sense tells me all I need to know about this crap

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All by design. I do not believe Brad Buckley is for school choice, no matter what he tells you. His wife is the deputy superintendent of Killeen ISD.

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It's not really that difficult to understand.

Bill text and analysis notes are:
https://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB2

Live video where they are explaining it further:
https://house.texas.gov/videos/21734

Basically it's an ESA set at 85% of State/Local expense of public school student which I think is better than the original Senate version. The House added more tiers for prioritization of initial funds, though.

This is an introductory bill which will have adjustments after they know how many parents want to participate.

It will likely result in fewer students or at least smaller increases and t will be up to the legislature to determine how they will adjust. The initial spending ratio will be about 100 to 1 public to private,

For those paranoid about any government influence (not seen in the 29 states that already have it) just simply don't need to participate.

EDITED: Didn't see previous context.

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The red tape, the parents, the behavioral issues with students, they all create a working environment teachers view as hostile and not worth tolerating after a few years.

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all true.

weird thing is teachers are simultaneously the biggest critics of the existing system yet they are also its biggest defenders.

Sure. But $62k as a new teacher and 22 years old is not bad. Out of college, I never thought I was going to buy a house and not have a roommate etc. Most new teachers are right out of college. I guess I thought that is getting closer to fair. My experience was as a 2LT in the Army. I knew it was an apartment with a roommate. I was paid enough for that. I think it's similar for new grad teachers.

oldag941 said:

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Sure. But $62k as a new teacher and 22 years old is not bad. Out of college, I never thought I was going to buy a house and not have a roommate etc. Most new teachers are right out of college. I guess I thought that is getting closer to fair. My experience was as a 2LT in the Army. I knew it was an apartment with a roommate. I was paid enough for that. I think it's similar for new grad teachers.

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Google says Spring Branch is $58k-$74k for new teachers. If you're married and can't afford a house on $116k-$148k a year, that's a savings issue, not a revenue issue.

I totally agree with your reply, btw.

Have you looked at the price of homes in Spring Branch ISD? It's Memorial south of I-10 and very few on this board would live north of I-10 in Spring Branch without being bilingual.

FIDO_Ags said:

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Have you looked at the price of homes in Spring Branch ISD? It's Memorial south of I-10 and very few on this board would live north of I-10 in Spring Branch without being bilingual.

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https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Houston_TX/district/Spring-Branch-Independent-School-District-06211442151/price-na-300000

I'm seeing homes for $260k, which is very affordable on a combined $108k-$144k salary.

Great! Now go drive around those neighborhoods and tell me what schools they are zoned to and then tell me you'd put your kids in those schools.

Republicans voted against letting the PEOPLE vote on this issue. They want control because Abbott controls them. 95% of our GOP needs to be overhauled. I hope everyone remembers this come election time.

Congratulations Texans on your additional $9B K-12 education bill you gained today.

(They haven't voted to pass SB2 yet, but I feel like the writing is on the wall after the amendment to let us vote was tabled; aka failed)

This DEMOCRAT woman is pitching an amendment to cap the program at $1B.

What a time to be alive.

They knew if they put it in the ballot and let the people of the great state of Texas decide, they wouldn't get their giant boondoggle government handout for the rich. It would fail overwhelmingly. Our governor was bought and paid for by Jeff Yass, Tim Dunn, Ferris Wilks and the school choice super PACs. And he'll stop at nothing to get it done.

Well, the Rs just proved they are not actually fiscally conservative. What a wonderful strategic move by the Ds…putting up an amendment to cap the program at $1B and thus proving the Rs aren't actually conservative when they voted to table to the amendment.