Our State's Greatest Investment

Public schools are Texas’ greatest and most important investment

Public schools are the foundation of Texas’ prosperity. Our state’s economy is one of the

largest in the world, fueled by a skilled workforce that is educated in Texas public schools. Despite their critical role in our success, our schools are under attack — underfunded,

politicized, and increasingly burdened with mandates that hinder their ability to focus on what truly matters: educating our children.

As Texans, we take pride in our independence, our innovation, and our economic strength. But none of that happens without strong public schools. Every industry in our state relies on the graduates of our public schools to drive our economy forward. From doctors and engineers to teachers, welders, business owners, oil and gas workers, and many more, our schools prepare students for success in college, career and life.

Sadly, instead of celebrating and investing in our schools, our state’s top politicians continue to politicize them, pushing policies that undermine their ability to do their jobs. Texas public schools are doing more with less than ever before. The state’s investment in education funding has steadily declined with each passing year, while Gov. Abbott and other politicians falsely claim our schools have more funding than ever, which is simply not true.

Meanwhile, inflation, teacher shortages, unfunded state mandates, and policies that have

legislated the art of teaching out of the classroom have made it exponentially harder for schools to continue providing the high-quality educational experience Texas families are accustomed to receiving.

Why public education

The fundamental purpose of public education is to serve the public good. It is not to serve as a profit-driven enterprise or a selective institution that only serves a privileged few. It exists so that every child, regardless of background, income, ability, disability, or ZIP code, has access to a free and appropriate education that prepares them for life as informed, capable citizens.

That’s why we all pay school taxes — even those without children in school — because an

educated society benefits everyone. We do not pay school taxes to educate our own children. We need well-trained doctors, skilled engineers, ethical business leaders, responsible law enforcement officers, effective teachers, and capable workers in the many trades that keep our communities, homes, and businesses functioning. Public schools are the mechanism by which we ensure our state remains competitive, innovative, and strong.

It’s a constitutional obligation in the hands of our Texas Legislature. The Texas Constitution mandates that the state fund and maintain a system of free public schools. Article 7, Section 1 states: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

Yet, instead of fulfilling this duty, state politicians are failing our students and communities. They continue to defund public education while attempting to convince Texans that their local schools are failing and mismanaging public funds.

‘Failing schools’ narrative

Let’s be clear: The argument that Texas public schools are failing is fundamentally wrong, and frankly, dishonest. By what measure are these widespread accusations of failure cast on our public schools and educators?

The only measures critics point to are A-F accountability ratings, which are almost exclusively determined by student performance on deeply flawed, state-mandated, standardized STAAR tests, which are not even aligned with the governor- and Texas Legislature-approved Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the very curriculum Texas students are taught. These tests do not measure the full depth of the student experience — they are used as a political weapon to label schools and teachers as ineffective in order to promote their agendas.

Beyond that, many of the attacks on public schools rely on nothing more than rhetoric —

talking points repeated by talking heads and politicians with no sourced data (or manufactured data) to back up their claims. One outrageous anomaly happens somewhere in America, and the talking heads and politicians declare widespread indoctrination. The narrative of failure, in Texas at least, is a lie designed to erode public trust and justify the dismantling of public education in favor of privatization of public education.

Lie 1: Funding aplenty

Some claim that Texas public schools are better funded than ever before. Wrong. When

adjusted for inflation, per-student funding has declined by 20 percent over the last five years. And, this funding decline has been exacerbated by the unfunded mandates the state continues to pile onto our schools.

Aside from some additional funding for a few specific segments of school operations, like special education, the Texas Legislature has not invested additional funding in its public schools since 2019. Sadly, Gov. Abbott held hostage an additional $5 billion that had been allocated for our schools last year. He would not allow the funding to flow to our schools if the Legislature did not pass his voucher bill. Seems to me that if his bill had any merit, it could stand on its own.

Overall funding has decreased because a top political priority of the Texas Legislature is

property tax relief, which I’m all for as long as the state replaces the local decrease with an alternative revenue stream. The mechanisms for achieving this property tax relief are

increasing the homestead exemption and forcing compression of local tax rates with promises of making up the difference by injecting state funds. The state of Texas has not kept this promise.

I live in Rockwall. Let’s say my house is valued at $400,000. When the homestead exemption was only $25,000 two years ago, Rockwall ISD collected taxes on $375,000 of my home value. The Texas Legislature increased the homestead exemption to $100,000 last year, and now Rockwall ISD only collects taxes on $300,000 of my home’s value. Although the state promised to make up the difference with state funds, it has not.

The Texas Constitution is clear: Funding public schools is the state’s duty. Our politicians are not living up to that duty. They are playing an intense game of politics with our schools, and more grotesquely, with our students’ educations.

Lie 2: No basic skills

Another myth suggests that Texas public schools are failing because students are graduating without basic skills. This claim is not only false but insulting to the hundreds of thousands of educators who dedicate their lives to teaching our children.

Are there challenges? Of course — particularly in underfunded schools and economically

disadvantaged communities. But the idea that students are walking across the graduation stage illiterate is a ridiculous lie. There are many hoops every student must jump through to demonstrate mastery of the courses required to graduate.

What are these claims based on? Standardized tests. And here’s the problem with that: These tests are deeply flawed and arbitrary. They measure a student’s ability to take a test, not their ability to think critically, problem-solve, work on a team, or apply what they’ve learned.

They ignore real growth and achievement in our schools. Public schools offer far more than just test scores — they provide students with experiences in career and technical education, the arts, leadership opportunities, and hands-on learning that standardized tests fail to measure.

The real question is this: If public schools are “failing,” then by what measure? And who gets to decide?

Texas students are excelling in countless ways. They are earning industry-based job

certifications, participating in national academic and fine arts competitions, and graduating prepared for college with college hours already completed — and sometimes with associate degrees. Public schools do not produce failure — they produce the future leaders and productive citizens of our state.

Lie 3: Indoctrination

Perhaps the most dangerous myth being pushed today is that public schools are centers of political indoctrination. Let’s be clear: This is a manufactured crisis.

Teachers are not political activists. They are professionals — highly trained educators who

dedicate their lives to teaching, not indoctrinating. The curriculum used in Texas classrooms is written and approved by the state, aligned to TEKS, and reviewed extensively before it reaches students. In fact, there is so much content and curriculum prescribed by Texas that there is very little room for any educator to inject personal agendas or rogue curricula. Every minute of the day has been scripted. The art of teaching is all but gone, thanks to know-it-all legislators and governors. If our schools are falling short, perhaps that’s something to look at.

What public schools do teach is how to think critically, evaluate sources, and engage in

meaningful discussions. That is not indoctrination — it is education.

I can promise you this: If teachers had the power to indoctrinate kids, every student would always remember to put their name on their paper and wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Public schools success

Despite the relentless attacks from some state politicians, Texas public schools are achieving incredible success.

Texas consistently ranks among the top 10 states in high school graduation rates, with over 90% of students graduating on time, and that number climbs to 93% when including those who need an extra semester or year.

Texas students are outperforming national averages in career and technical education. In 2023, more than 350,000 Texas students earned industry-based job certifications in high-demand fields like health care, technology, and skilled trades, making them workforce-ready immediately after graduation.

Texas public schools are preparing students for college better than ever. More than 150,000 students earned college credit through dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses last year, saving families millions in tuition costs and giving students a head start on their degrees.

Opponents of public education love to paint a grim picture, claiming Texas schools are failing. They cherry-pick data, twist statistics, and ignore the real successes happening every day in classrooms across the state. But when you take a closer look, a very different story emerges — one of resilience, achievement, and dedicated educators making a difference.

Texas students consistently rank among the best in the nation when you break things down by student groups. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results show that Texas ranks first in the country in fourth-grade math for African American students and fourth for economically disadvantaged students. Texas fourth graders outperformed the national average in math, scoring 241 compared to the national average of 237, with 43% of students hitting or exceeding proficiency compared to 39% nationally (NAEP, 2024). Texas English learners are also leading the way, ranking first in the nation in eighth-grade reading and math, and placing in the top five for fourth-grade reading and math (TEA, 2025).

These numbers tell a powerful and positive story — but not if you only read the headlines being written by detractors of public schools.

The reality is, our educators and students are thriving, even as their governor and some Texas legislators work tirelessly to undermine their achievements. The question is: Why? What’s their motivation?

System under threat

While public schools remain the most effective and efficient way to educate all children, some state leaders are actively working to divert taxpayer dollars into private school vouchers, or publicly funded subsidies. At the time of this writing, no voucher legislation has passed the Texas House.

Most Texans don’t realize we’ve had school vouchers in Texas for roughly 30 years. Charter schools are essentially funded by vouchers. If I choose to unenroll my child from Rockwall ISD and enroll them in the charter school nearby, the per-pupil funding allocated will leave Rockwall ISD and follow him/her to the charter school. And now, with well over 1,000 charter schools across Texas, no one can say parents don’t have choices. But that’s exactly what Gov. Abbott is claiming. I guess he forgot about charter schools.

Vouchers are gifts of public funds, which I heard Attorney General Ken Paxton declare live on air as illegal and unconstitutional when referring to the city of Houston wanting to create minimum household income grants. How are vouchers any different?

Vouchers are often framed as “conservative” policy, but the truth is, the whole notion is the most liberal policy ever dreamed up by either party. They are unchecked gifts of public funds and an extraordinary waste of public dollars with no accountability to the taxpayers.

Public schools are governed by locally elected boards and accountable to voters. Vouchers take public funds and hand them to private schools with zero taxpayer oversight. These schools can reject students for any reason, aren’t required to meet the same academic standards (or any at all), and don’t have to disclose how they spend public money. Vouchers do not create choices for parents. They emphasize choice for private schools, including the choice to raise tuition when new dollars are injected into the market.

Gov. Abbott’s voucher proposal started as a $1 billion plan, but projections show it will likely balloon to more than $8 billion per budget cycle by 2029. And for what? Research at Stanford University found no evidence that vouchers significantly improved student outcomes.

Vouchers don’t improve education or save money — they weaken neighborhood schools by diverting funds and forcing program cuts. And despite the claim that they help struggling students, most voucher recipients in other states were already in private schools before getting public money.

John Dewey, one of the most influential voices in American education history, once said: “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children.”

The fundamental purpose of public education is pretty simple: to ensure that every child,

regardless of their background, has access to the same opportunities for success. Those pushing for privatization and vouchers often frame education as a personal choice rather than a collective responsibility. But education isn’t just about individual success — it’s about building a stronger, more equitable society where every child has the chance to reach their full potential.

Time to act is now

This is why my wife, Leslie, and I founded Friends of Texas Public Schools — to change the conversation about public education, to restore pride in our schools, to dispel the myths, to correct the misinformation, and to push back on disinformation.

Our work is focused on one thing: making sure Texans know the truth about their public

schools. Despite the negativity, our schools are filled with dedicated professionals who go above and beyond every day for our kids. They need our support, not our condemnation.

Be an advocate. Speak up for your local schools. Defend the honor of your local educators. Call your legislators and tell them you want them to do all they can to support your schools.

Vote. Elect Texans who believe in public schools, who understand their role and value in our communities, and who will fight for fair funding and responsible policies.

Tell the real story. Texas public schools are succeeding despite the challenges. Share their achievements, support your local educators, and help push back against misinformation.

The future of Texas depends on the strength of our public schools. Every child, no matter their background or ZIP code, deserves access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success. The attacks on our schools — through underfunding, misinformation, and political agendas — aren’t just harming educators: They’re threatening the future of our communities and our economy.

The truth is, Texas public schools are not failing. They are thriving, producing the workforce and leaders who keep our state strong. But they can’t keep doing more with less. If we want Texas to continue leading the way, we must reject the false narratives and fight for the funding, respect, and support our public schools deserve.

Public education is Texas’ greatest investment. It’s time we start treating it that way.