HOUSTON — In the hours after the election, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he believes there is enough support for school vouchers to be passed statewide.
Now, a Houston teachers union is concerned.
Abbott took to social media to celebrate Texas House Republican victories while noting those he backed support school choice. Abbott said he looks to fund both public education and school choice from two different pots of money.
Not everyone says they see this as a viable option and opinions on the matter are still divided.
”All families in the state of Texas deserve school choice,” Abbott said.
“It's going to hit us in a way that I don't think people really understand. Texas has never seen this,” Houston Education Association President Michelle Williams said.
Abbott has long been a champion for an education savings account, which is a voucher program.
If signed into law, millions of K-12 students would have the option to receive a set amount of taxpayer dollars annually to attend non-public schools.
On Wednesday morning, Abbott spoke in North Texas about his confidence in getting the program passed after Tuesday night’s state election results.
“Those candidates prevailed because families in those house districts embraced and wanted school choice,” Abbott said.
In 2023, a bipartisan group of state House representatives rejected the idea of a voucher program during the legislative session.
The denial also resulted in increases in teacher salaries and basic allotment. The basic allotment is how much money Texas gives per student for their state-funded district to provide education.
For Williams, losing any student is a concern.
“It's going to hit us because we already are in a financial crisis due to the state takeover. We currently have a $423,000,000 budget deficit,” Williams said.
The start of the next Texas Legislative session is about two months away, on Jan. 14, 2025.
“It is going to decimate public schools,” Williams said.
“The reality is we can have the best public schools in America and also have school choice at the very same time,” Abbott said.
Abbott said he believes he has 79 votes in the Texas House for the program, which is more than the 76 he said is needed.
Meanwhile, Williams expresses concern not only for Houston ISD but also for the future of rural school districts should vouchers pass.