Midway ISD, a school district with around 9,000 students just outside Waco, is staring down a growing budget deficit that Superintendent Chris Allen hoped would shrink with the new state funding for public schools provided under House Bill 2, the school finance package that the Texas House passed in April. That was until Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick unveiled the Senate’s substantially different counter-proposal last week.
Senator Brandon Creighton opened the education committee’s public hearing on the proposal Thursday morning by emphasizing that the Senate’s measure would infuse nearly $8 billion of new funding into the public school system. But instead of making a significant increase to the basic allotment—the baseline amount that a district gets per student—the Senate version would instead earmark investments for teacher pay, teacher preparation and certification, special education, and school safety.
The Senate’s plan sets aside $4.2 billion for teacher pay raises. There are more generous increases—between $5,000 and $10,000—for teachers with at least three years of experience in small rural school districts, while those teachers in districts with more than 5,000 students, the state’s major urban and suburban schools, would get raises of just half that range. The House’s $7.8-billion plan directs 40 percent of the basic allotment increase to pay for school employees, including counselors, nurses, and librarians, which the Senate nixed. The Senate’s plan also allocates $1.3 billion for additional special education spending, while the House caps this at $800 million. Under both plans, charter schools would receive a big boost, but the Senate plan would give charter schools a bigger payout with $225 million in new funding for charter school facility improvements. The House plan includes a funding increase for bilingual education, fine arts, and full-day funding for pre-K, though the Senate nixes those provisions.
