{"id":719312,"date":"2023-12-14T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=719312"},"modified":"2023-12-13T16:29:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T21:29:04","slug":"texas-superintendents-say-lack-of-school-safety-funding-may-lead-to-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/texas-superintendents-say-lack-of-school-safety-funding-may-lead-to-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Superintendents Say Lack of School Safety Funding May Lead to Budget Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Public school administrators were well aware that the Texas House\u2019s vote to block a school voucher program<\/a> last month would likely mean getting no new money for teacher raises and inflation adjustments this year. Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> had long threatened to veto any education funding bill without a voucher component.<\/p>\n

But they were surprised and disappointed that proposals that would have provided them with additional funds for school safety \u2014 a stated priority for many lawmakers in the aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting \u2014 also fell apart.<\/p>\n

The fourth special legislative session this year ended without a vote on separate House and Senate bills that would have boosted school safety funding \u2014 both of which came after school districts statewide complained<\/a> they didn\u2019t have enough money to fulfill new safety requirements passed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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Now, with many districts already operating in deficit budgets, superintendents across the state say they will be forced to make significant budget cuts to meet the new safety mandates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether we’re rural, large, small, urban, suburban, when we superintendents get together and chat\u2026 all of us are like, \u2018Where are we going to get the dollars? What are you cutting?\u2019\u201d Dallas Independent School District<\/a> Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said. She added that her district might have to nix extracurriculars, field trips and transportation for students in magnet schools \u2014 along with laying off teachers and increasing student class sizes.<\/p>\n

House Bill 3<\/a> \u2014 which the Texas Legislature approved in May<\/a> in response to the Uvalde shooting<\/a> \u2014 requires districts to post an armed security guard at every school and provide mental health training to certain employees. To fund these measures, the law gave school districts $15,000 per campus and $10 per student, along with allotting $1.1 billion to the Texas Education Agency to administer grants that schools can apply for. In 2022, lawmakers also approved $400 million<\/a> to help school districts pay for safety upgrades.<\/p>\n

Last month, the House drafted a bill<\/a> that would have boosted that funding by $1.3 billion. The Senate crafted its own $800 million school safety bill<\/a>, which would have also increased the funding schools receive for safety upgrades and given the TEA $400 million more for its school safety grants. Both bills failed to advance for a vote in the opposite chamber.<\/p>\n