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Veronica Escobar, Mary González call for public education funding, encourage El Pasoans to vote [1]
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Date: 2024-10-24
Public education is under attack by Republican lawmakers in both the state and federal government, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar and Texas Rep. Mary González said during a press conference Thursday, joined by the nine school superintendents in El Paso County.
The two El Paso Democratic lawmakers said they hope to educate people on the issues that affect public education, encouraging them to vote in November and asking them to stay involved after the election.
“We need the public to participate in this election season. We’re not telling people how to vote, but we’re telling people to get out the vote, and we need to make sure that people stay engaged long after they leave the ballot box,” Escobar said during the press conference at the Region 19 Education Service Center.
Escobar, who is seeking a fourth-term for the 16th Congressional District, faces three-time Republican challenger Irene Armendariz-Jackson in the Nov. 5 election.
Among the races on the Nov. 5 ballot in El Paso that could impact education policies are the presidential race, the U.S. Senate race in Texas, and the State Board of Education race. Four of the five El Paso state representatives don’t face any Republican opposition in this election.
“Parents should understand that there’s a whole different level of conversation that is impacting the decisions at a local level, and that if they want to see these changes, they should be informed, vote and continue their advocacy after the elections,” said González, who is seeking reelection and doesn’t have a Republican challenger in the general election.
The Republican Party of Texas has not responded to El Paso Matters’ request for comment.
At the federal level, some lawmakers plan to cut Title 1 funding, which is given to schools with high numbers of low-income students, the El Paso Democrats said. They pointed to former President Donald Trump’s recent calls to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, which establishes policies on distributing federal aid, collects data on students, and establishes laws to prevent discrimination and provide equal access to education for all students.
At the state level, they said some have held public education funding hostage to advance a voucher program that would allow parents to use state dollars to pay for private schools. Texas lawmakers have not increased the basic allotment of $6,160 given to school districts per student since 2019.
“There is a deliberate effort to starve the system, and it’s not just happening in Texas with the effort to divert funding away from public education,” Escobar said. “All of that poses a threat not just to our kids’ ability to access an education, it is a direct threat to our community’s ability to grow economically.”
Texas lawmakers will likely revisit increasing the basic allotment and voucher programs during the 2025 State Legislative Session, which is set to meet in January and run until June.
During the conference, Escobar and González also heard from superintendents about the issues their districts face and their need for more funding.
“Inflation has increased by 20% in some cases, 25% … yet we still receive the same allocation that we received in 2019 almost five years later,” Ysleta ISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said.
Most of the school districts in El Paso are currently operating under a budget deficit and have been forced to make budget cuts.
Anthony ISD Superintendent Oscar Troncoso said his district has cut staff to the bare minimum, only employing the needed teachers, principals and counselors.
Some districts, like El Paso ISD, are facing declining enrollment along with increased costs. School funding in Texas is based on attendance, so the fewer students a district enrolls, the less money it gets.
As a result, EPISD is planning to close 10 of its 48 elementary schools.
Even if school funding increases, El Paso ISD Superintendent Diana Sayavedra said it likely won’t be enough to prevent school closures in communities with falling birthrates and declining school enrollment.
“We’re paying almost double to educate a child than what the state has given us. The basic allotment is not going to be raised to really make up that difference,” Sayavedra told El Paso Matters. “Now will it help us so that we can continue to expand programming opportunities and make sure that we have reasonable class sizes and that we can continue to improve our learning environments? Yes.”
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[1] Url:
http://elpasomatters.org/2024/10/24/veronica-escobar-mary-gonzalez-public-school-funding-election/
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