Taylor Independent School District leaders are already preparing for Texas’ 89th Legislative Session.
Before state representatives begin to meet starting next January, district staff and trustees discussed what priorities they should advocate for during their Monday, April 22 school board meeting.
“As we’re meeting in superintendent groups, one of the things we’re starting to talk about is really nailing down one or two top priorities within our local area,” Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen said. “Just to send a message and show unity in some of these legislative priorities.”
Garcia-Edwardsen presented six priorities that Region 13 trustees and superintendents deemed to be important.
The items include teacher retention and salary issues, increasing basic allotment for each student, opposition to school vouchers, fund- ing based on student enrollment, increased support for special education services and a reduction or overhaul of required state tests.
“The superintendent group talked about increasing the basic student allotment, which would also go to help further programs, help teacher’s salaries. It would basically help our overall school functions and district functions,” Garcia-Edwardsen said.
According to Texas Education Agency information, basic allotment is the legislatively mandated apportionment of funds from the general revenue funds that goes to each school district to provide a basic level of education for the district’s residents.
Currently, the basic allotment required by the state is $6,160 per student.
Assistant Secretary Jim Buzan expressed a desire to pair increasing the basic allotment and student enrollment to determine funding.
Buzan asked if it was possible to put the two priorities as some type of hand-to-hand package.
“My fear is the legislature is going to do ‘either or,’” Buzan said. “They’ll say yeah, we’re going to let you do it based on enrollment, but we’re going to drop the allotment. So, you’d still end up with the same amount of money. So, to me, that’s kind of not an ‘either or,’ but a ‘both and.’” Other comments included trustee Joseph Meller highlighting the importance of teacher retention and recruitment practices and Secretary Cheryl Carter asking if school safety was considered.
