The Texas movement for school choice may have just gotten a financial boost following a recent announcement by the governor’s office.
Gov. Greg Abbott reported having raised over $19 million in his two campaign accounts in the past six months, putting him at roughly $38 million as the Republican primary election approaches.
Noting that the recent fundraising effort walloped prior comparable periods, Kim Snyder, the campaign manager behind Texans for Greg Abbott, said that the funds would go towards helping him create “an even bigger, better Texas in 2024” and “back strong conservative candidates who support his bold agenda.”
At the top of his agenda in recent months has been seeing an education bill with a provision for taxpayer-funded education savings accounts come out of the Texas Legislature.
As extensively covered by The Dallas Express, Abbott has championed education savings accounts with universal eligibility as key to ensuring Texas children receive the best education possible.
“Giving parents the freedom to choose the best school for their child will make that happen,” he said.
School choice has seen considerable traction across the country, with states such as Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Utah enacting policies that allow taxpayer dollars to be spent on families’ private school or homeschooling expenses.
The initiative stalled last year in the Lone Star State as an anti-school choice coalition of Democrats and 16 Republicans in the lower chamber blocked its advancement.
Abbott has made no secret of targeting anti-school choice House Republicans by endorsing their opponents in the upcoming Republican primary. Such targets include Reps. Steve Allison (R-San Antonio), DeWayne Burns (R-Cleburne), Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches), Drew Darby (R-San Angelo), Glenn Rogers (R-Graford), Hugh Shine (R-Temple), and Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston).
Meanwhile, he has held campaign events in support of pro-school choice Reps. Jacey Jetton (R-Richmond), Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), Cody Harris (R-Palestine), Candy Noble (R-Lucas), and Kronda Thimesch (R-Carrollton), as well as House District 56 candidate Pat Curry.
Some have criticized Abbott’s zeal for the policy, suggesting that children attending public school systems are getting caught in the political crossfire.
“The governor’s attention to vouchers while ignoring efforts to adequately fund public education for 5.4 million Texas children should be alarming to all voters,” said David DeMatthews, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, according to The Dallas Morning News.
With no increase in state funding for education as a result of the legislature’s failure to pass school choice, several Texas public school districts have reportedly faced financial hardship and are deliberating closures, attendance zone expansions, and other options to shore up their budgets, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
How successful Abbott will be in unseating opponents of school choice remains to be seen. Matthew Wilson, an associate professor at Southern Methodist University, suggested that the governor might face an uphill battle.
“Conservatives in recent years have had limited success in unseating incumbents over education issues,” Wilson told DMN.
Although the boost in campaign funds might help, Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, suggested that information is king.
“Message normally beats money, and the governor, to be successful, needs to educate, persuade, then mobilize voters on the rather narrow issue of school choice,” Rottinghaus said, per DMN. “It’s a tall order in a relatively short period of time.”
Polling indicates broad support for some kind of school choice legislation across most demographics in Texas. The support may be in part due to the poor student achievement outcomes clocked by many public school systems in the state.
Dallas ISD, for instance, underperformed across several metrics, according to its latest accountability from the Texas Education Agency. Only 41% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated teachers, and almost 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 did not earn a diploma in four years.