Policy for Education Reform and Student Success
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Fully Funding Our Public Schools
We will protect our rural and suburban communities by guaranteeing that our neighborhood public schools are fully funded first, ensuring absolute accountability and transparency for every taxpayer dollar spent on education.
- Utilizing State Reserves: We will leverage Texas’s multi-billion dollar rainy day fund to fully fund our schools and provide direct property tax relief to families.
- Closing Corporate Loopholes: We must end corporate tax breaks so everyday families are not forced to pick up the tab for special interests, ensuring those funds go directly to our classrooms.
- Reference: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Supporting and Retaining Top Educators
If we want the best schools for our children, we must pay for them and support the professionals who lead our classrooms. Currently, our teachers have not seen a real raise in years, even as their cost of living continuously climbs.
- Raising Teacher Pay: We will demand competitive, real raises for our educators to match rising costs and keep top talent in Texas.
- Housing Affordability: We will implement “Fair Shot” housing policies to guarantee that rent remains affordable, ensuring teachers can afford to live in the communities where they work.
- Reference: Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)
Investing in Student Mental Health and Well-Being
A successful education system must also address the holistic needs of its students. Recognizing that behavioral health issues often disrupt learning, we must provide comprehensive support to keep kids on track:
- Expanding Mental Health Access: Mental health care is a necessity, not a luxury; we will invest in community-based clinics to better support the mental health of our youth.
- Keeping Kids in the Classroom: We will address behavioral health and family dysfunction outside of the juvenile justice system, keeping children out of adult facilities and focused on their academics.
- Reference: U.S. Department of Education
Focusing on Basics
For too long, Austin has prioritized political theater over the real needs of our students. To achieve meaningful reform, it is an absolute necessity to work with whoever is focused on the problems of education in Texas communities, not politics.
- Prioritizing the Kitchen Table: We will actively reject divisive politics and instead focus on the basics: lowering costs, improving infrastructure, and building better schools.
- Collaborative Problem Solving: We commit to evidence-based policymaking and bipartisan collaboration to ensure our education system works for every family, rather than serving as a battleground for political extremes.
- Reference: Texas Legislature Online