Beth Netherland

Here is the post by @CodyforTexas: 1/ Teacher pay raises, “vouchers," fully funding public schools: let’s talk about them. Be forewarned, this will be a long read. In 2018 during my first campaign for state representative, I ran as the anti-voucher candidate—opposed to taxpayer dollars being used to fund private education. My reason for that position, both publicly and privately, was fear of state government being given a potential avenue to regulate private schools at some point down the road. At that time, my own children were in a private, Christian school in Palestine. Now let’s jump to 2020/2021 when reports began to surface of truly unthinkable things happening in public schools around the state: parents being forcibly removed from school board meetings by police, teachers encouraging their young students to use “preferred” pronouns, gay pride day celebrations, and books teaching young children sexually deviant behaviors in graphic detail. Surely, I thought, this won’t be tolerated by the public education community at large. As more reports began to surface and the cry for “school choice” along with them, I sent a letter to every ISD superintendent in House District 8—over 30 school districts that I represent—urging them to speak out against the insanity that we were witnessing in public schools around the state. I warned them that if the public education community did not police its own, school choice through some form of voucher would be the result. At this point, all four of my own kids were attending public school and they still are to this day. In January of 2023, I was sworn in to my third term as the 88th Texas Legislature began and the Speaker of the House appointed me to the Committee on Public Education. I had never served on this committee before. Governor Abbott added “parent empowerment” through education savings accounts as an emergency item to our session’s agenda, and I was still extremely skeptical of any program that allowed public tax dollars to be used for private education. I told Governor Abbott this during our first meeting in March. As our hearings began on the Public Education Committee, I resolved to be as objective as possible as I listened to and considered testimony from the public. It was during these hearings that my position on school choice began to change. For the first time in decades, the Committee held a public hearing on four different bills which proposed various forms of education savings accounts and true vouchers. This hearing lasted for 16 hours nonstop. Testifying one after another were parents and even students detailing how traditional public education simply didn’t work for them. Whether it was a disability, bullying, learning style, or any other number of reasons, they were begging for help. I’ll never forget the testimony from one father whose child was trapped in a failing public school. He didn’t have the financial ability to put him in a private school and the charter schools close to them were full. It was at that moment I realized: if I were that father, I would be beating down the doors of the Capitol to give my child the chance to get a good education through an education savings account, a voucher, or anything else. Also testifying one after another were teachers unions, pro-public education associations, and public school administrators vehemently against these proposals. Their reasons varied to some degree, but the common theme was: “If the legislature would fully fund public schools, then public schools would finally be able to meet the needs of all students.” Most said they would never support a voucher under any circumstance. Some said they would only do so when public schools are “fully funded." So I asked them, “What is ‘fully funded’? What is that amount?” None of them could give me an answer.

Because Texans don't want vouchers

Let's not forget that our now former governor and lt governor threatened those senators to vote for vouchers so we really don't know how they feel. But after this election, we sure know how their constituents feel!