Texas Republicans refused to increase funding for the state’s struggling schools in the 2023 legislative session, despite sitting on what was, at the time, a $30 billion budget surplus. Parents like Daphne Hoffacker continue to be astounded at the choice.
“I feel like we’re working so hard here in Texas,” said Hoffacker, who leads advocacy for the Austin Council of PTAs. “But if your kid is going to school in Massachusetts, they’re getting twice the resources in every classroom, at every age, at every school. They have more teachers, they have smaller class sizes, they have more course offerings.”
Hoffacker will join school district administrators and public education advocates from across the state this January to once again try to pry money loose for teachers and schools. She’ll take parents to the Capitol and show them how to advocate. She’ll testify before House and Senate committees and speak with legislators. She wants to see a variety of improvements, but her core message is the money: Our leaders must increase the basic allotment, the dollars the state provides per student, which sets the budgets for Texas schools…