In Fort Worth, it’s pink slips for staff. In Irving, they’re shutting down a school.
Librarians in Keller ISD will have to split time between multiple campuses, even affluent Carroll ISD in Southlake says they’re facing a substantial loss. Public school districts in North Texas saying they can’t pay their bills with the amount of money they’re getting from the state of Texas.
"Well, I never liked to be told I told you so. So I'm not going to do and I told you," said Stephanie Elizalde, Superintendent, Dallas ISD But she did tell us, all last year, that the money wasn’t enough to keep up with inflation, wasn’t enough to handle all the mandates schools are being forced to pull off.
"We certainly saw this coming. We were reading the tea leaves. And so we started to make cuts in advance," she said.
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Elizalde says Dallas ISD shouldn’t see some of the significant cuts, other districts are having to make. She says she knew money from the federal government’s covid relief was running out, and the state wasn’t going to step in to help.
She made the cuts, slowly.
"Let me try this out. Is this more effective than what I have? If it is, then it replaces not supplements, it's got to actually replace what you have, it can't be an add-on because there are no new dollars that are going to be with them," she said.
Carter In The Classroom
Focusing on unique things school districts are doing to help children succeed.
But Why? Why are there no dollars to help schools operate, when Texas has billions of dollars, sitting in the bank?
Governor Greg Abbott says the answer is simple.
“Those who want more funding for schools, they got to get together for school choice, because this is an altogether package of school choice. $6 billion more for funding education, teacher pay raises, as well as ending in the STARR test instead of Texas," said Abbott to NBC 5.
Gov. Abbott won’t approve it until lawmakers allow school choice or vouchers. Schools have fought against it, and so have members of Abbott’s own party, worried it will take more money away from cash-strapped public schools. The Governor called lawmakers back multiple times to pass school choice, it failed every time, and has not been brought up again.
"Is there another way?" said Elizalde. "I think the other way is going to have to be other people voting. I think people need to vote."
