TO THE EDITOR
I taught in a Texas public school classroom before I ever thought about running for office. I know what it means to walk into a room with bare walls, a few desks, and a whiteboard, no markers included.
I know what it feels like to be told how much paper you’re allowed to print, to pay out of pocket for basic supplies, and to spend unpaid hours creating lessons that make learning engaging rather than something students simply endure.
As a non-certified teacher, I made less than $700 a month. While pay has increased since then, the conditions inside many classrooms have not improved nearly enough.
In rural districts across West Texas, class sizes of 28 to 32 students are common. Teachers are expected to absorb unpaid labor through take-home work, constant testing preparation, and rigid state mandates.
During STAAR testing, educators are even required to strip their classrooms bare covering posters, books, and sometimes personal photos, as if learning happens best in isolation.
This is the reality inside Texas public schools. And instead of addressing these challenges, state leadership is choosing policies that make them worse.
Representative Drew Darby (R) recently voted in favor of school vouchers, a policy that would pull funding directly from public schools that are already stretched thin. Under the current plan, a general education voucher removes up to $10,300 per student from public school funding.
For a special education student, that number can rise to as much as $30,000 per student.
Supporters of vouchers argue that the state “added” money to offset these losses. But the details matter.
Of the $500 million added to the general school fund, $250 million is restricted to approved providers, limiting what schools can actually spend the money on.
Instead of giving districts flexibility to respond to their students’ needs, the state is dictating spending from Austin.
At the same time, the average private school tuition in West Texas is around $19,000 per year, far more than what most working families can afford, even with a voucher.
The result is predictable: rural public schools lose funding, while many families gain no realistic alternative.
That isn’t school choice. It’s a slow drain on the schools that educate the vast majority of Texas children.
Public schools are not struggling because teachers don’t care or because students aren’t trying. They are struggling because lawmakers continue to pile on mandates while diverting resources away from classrooms. Every dollar pulled from a public school is one less dollar for smaller class sizes, special education services, counselors, librarians, and support staff.
Texas can do better and we must.
Texas should focus on strengthening public schools, not undermining them.
That starts with ending high stakes over-testing and moving away from STAAR driven instruction that narrows learning and burns out both students and teachers. It means stopping unpaid internships and unpaid labor expectations for educators. It means fully funding special education, so schools are not penalized for serving students with higher needs.
It also means expanding early childhood education, providing free school meals so kids can focus on learning instead of hunger, and protecting local control so districts can spend money based on what their students need not what a state approved list allows.
Public education is not just another budget item. It is the backbone of our communities, our workforce, and our future. If Texas truly wants strong schools, we must invest in them not drain them.
Texas students, families, and teachers deserve leadership that understands the classroom and is willing to fight for it.
— Rev. Shiloh Salazar, Big Spring
Candidate for Texas House District 72
