Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas House deadlocked on school choice, teacher bonuses

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott wants a voucherlike plan passed first. The House, though, is balking.

The Republican-controlled chamber’s leaders want money for teacher bonuses and an overhaul of public school accountability passed in tandem with Abbott’s proposed education savings accounts, which would allow some parents to tap state funds to pay for private school tuition, books and other materials, such as uniforms.

But Abbott hasn’t yet added either the money or changes eagerly sought by public school leaders to the agenda of the year’s third special session, which can’t last beyond Nov. 7.

In such overtime sessions, bills can’t become law that aren’t related to the topics a governor chooses. Instead of bowing to the House’s wishes, Abbott has insisted that a bill for “parental empowerment,” using taxpayer funds, be passed first.

The clock is ticking. Wednesday marked Day 17 of the special session. Such sessions cannot last more than 30 days.

And neither side is blinking. The House has not begun moving any education bills. Abbott has not enlarged the session’s “call,” or agenda, to include school finance and accountability.

“It seems it’s dead for this session,” said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson, who’s tracked the history of the Legislature’s funding of public schools since 1949.

‘Political malpractice’

Abbott may be “committing political malpractice” by demanding a voucherlike program that’s open to hundreds of thousands of Texas families, Jillson said. Other states started small with their education savings accounts, then gradually expanded them, he noted.

“He’s got to get the camel’s nose under the tent before he can get the animal inside,” Jillson said of Abbott.

Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze did not immediately respond to a question about whether the third-term GOP governor has overreached.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Abbott sent out a fundraising email that said, “Let’s get school choice over the finish line. Join the fight for education freedom and parental empowerment with a small contribution today!”

Eze insisted discussions between the governor’s office and lieutenants of House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, were still underway.

The most recent conversation between Abbott and Phelan she could point to was late last week.

“Governor Abbott spoke with Speaker Phelan on Friday morning in what was a productive conversation,” Eze said. “The Governor let the Speaker know that the current version of the House school choice bill differs from what the Governor’s office had negotiated with the House’s leadership team selected by the Speaker. Speaker Phelan agreed to continue to work with Governor Abbott on the agreed-upon principles of school choice until a deal is reached.”

Abbott-Phelan conversation

Late Wednesday afternoon, Phelan spokeswoman Cassi Pollock confirmed that Friday’s was the last Abbott-Phelan conversation. But she said people designated by the two top GOP leaders “are communicating with one another by the hour. Negotiations have been productive and are ongoing.”

The House’s “consensus” is that the topics of education savings accounts and school funding have to be considered “simultaneously,” she said.

As of late Wednesday Phelan had not referred to a committee Rep. Brad Buckley’s bill, filed late Thursday, that funnels more money to schools and creates education savings accounts.

“We are unable to refer HB 1 to committee, as it goes outside the bounds of Governor Abbott’s call,” Pollock explained.

On Monday, Buckley, who heads both the House’s standing committee on public education and a Select Committee on Educational Opportunity & Enrichment that Phelan created in June, described his bill as critically needed.

It includes money for teacher bonuses, more state aid for schools and changes to the A through F system for rating campuses and districts.

“There’s never been a more important time to fund our public schools given the inflationary environment that they’re operating in right now and the fact that teachers need a pay raise and we need an increase in the basic allotment and we’ve got to better fund school safety,” he said in an interview. “And we need accountability reform.”

Abbott has said he would call a second special session on education savings accounts if the House continues to resist. And if the next session brought another deadlock, Abbott signaled he would ask voters in the March Republican primary to defeat opponents of school choice.

Historically, such proposals have faced a tough road in the House, as rural Republicans and most Democrats said they didn’t want to funnel state money away from public schools.

The conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, perhaps Abbott’s strongest ally in this year’s ESA fight, sent an email blast to supporters Wednesday that raised the decibel level.

‘Misinformation and lies’

School board trustees “are spreading misinformation and lies” about school choice and “going wild to defend [their] territory—control over our kids and control over the cash,” foundation point person Mandy Drogin said.

Dax Gonzalez, spokesman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said trustees have an obligation to inform the communities that elect them about problems schools face.

“They’re desperately trying to ensure that their communities are being provided the best educational opportunities that they can have,” Gonzalez said. Education savings accounts are mainly designed to provide subsidies for families already sending their children to private schools, he said.

Foundation spokesman Brian Phillips fired back, saying if school boards are truly creating opportunities for students, “that’s great. But why not let the parents choose which of those opportunities are best for their kids?”

It’s not yet clear how much money the House would provide for an education savings account.

The Senate-passed version would provide $8,000 a year per qualifying student, and up to $1,000 annually for homeschooled students to use on curriculum and transportation.

But the House bill would tie the ESA amount to 75% of the statewide average amount spent per public school student by the state and school districts in the most recent year. It would be up to Education Commissioner Mike Morath, an Abbott appointee, to calculate the figure. Informally, school-group analysts have estimated the House ESA could be worth anywhere from $7,500 to $9,750.

However, an aide to Buckley said Wednesday that the bill is being revised. The original Buckley bill is 184 pages, and includes provisions that stray far afield. One would provide $10 million for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory at Mount Locke, which is in the district of Rep. Eddie Morales, D-Eagle Pass.

Asked if the provision would persuade him to vote for the bill, Morales on Wednesday replied, “No. It has vouchers.”

Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, called Buckley’s bill “a trainwreck. This was loaded up with more pork than I’ve seen in a long time.” Harrison, a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, praised Abbott for displaying “bold and strong leadership on this issue.” The House “is clearly and intentionally slow-walking this,” he said.

Dallas Democratic Rep. Yvonne Davis, though, said Abbott needs to be called out. “Why would a governor who has surplus money not fund education — and then try to hurt it,” she said. Any voucherlike plan is a threat to public schools, she said.