Greetings Rachael,

School districts across Texas -large, medium, and small- are now dealing with the same deficit budget dilemma. That’s because there’s been no new state funding since 2019, and lawmakers did not add new education dollars in the 88th regular session, nor in the subsequent four special sessions, despite the state’s historic $33 billion surplus.

Multiple legislators filed bills to address the funding and teacher crises, but Governor Greg Abbott vowed not to support any public education funding or teacher pay raise bill without an accompanying voucher program to subsidize students' private education.

Your Trustees, Superintendents, Principals, and Teachers are now grappling with difficult choices from increasing class sizes to cutting extracurricular programs to implementing 4-day weeks to closing campuses. 

We hope you will participate in those discussions in your community to ensure all children have a voice. Before you do, take a minute to learn about school funding in Texas, courtesty of Raise Your Hand Texas.

We also hope you will get informed and vote!

First up: The primary runoff elections are on May 28. Likely the most important election in the state of Texas, this is the opportunity to decide which candidate you want to represent your party in November.

If you live in a House district where there is a runoff, please participate. You can vote in only ONE party’s primary in a year. That means if you voted in the Democratic primary on March 5, you have to vote in the Democratic runoff. If you did NOT vote in the March 5 primary, then you can vote in either party's primary runoff on May 28.

If not already registered, you must do so by April 29. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county by May 17. Early voting is scheduled for May 20-24.

So many dates to remember. Please mark your calendar now.

Sincerely,

A small delegation represented Texas PTA at the National PTA’s 2024 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. March 4-7, 2024.

The March 5th Primary was an expensive and acrimonious election, with several races resulting in victories for well-funded challengers backed by Governor Abbott. Nine incumbents lost in the Texas House, and ten more incumbents, including House Speaker Dade Phelan, will enter a runoff. 

Sixteen House incumbents who voted last year against taxpayer funding for private schools faced challengers supported by special interest groups who are proponents of vouchers. Six of these incumbents won their primary without a runoff: Representatives Keith Bell, Drew Darby, Jay Dean, Charlie Geren, Ken King, and Stan Lambert. Another six of these incumbents, Representatives Steve Allison, Ernest Bailes, Travis Clardy, Glenn Rogers, Hugh Shine, and Reggie Smith, lost to pro-voucher opponents. 

The remaining four pro-public education incumbents, Representatives DeWayne Burns, Justin Holland, John Kuempel, and Gary VanDeaver, will have to submit to a May 28th runoff, after not garnering over 50 percent of the vote.

An incredible amount of money was spent in this election cycle, with one out-of-state supporter of private schools contributing $6 million alone in what was called the largest-ever contribution received in Texas politics.

When no candidate gets over fifty percent of the votes in a primary race, the top two vote-getters must face each other in the May 28 primary runoff election. Whoever wins the runoff will be the party’s nominee for that race in the November 5 general election.

This election set up what will undoubtedly be one of the most hard-fought primary runoff seasons ever. Political contributions from voucher supporters and opponents will certainly reach astronomical proportions.

Governor Abbott released a statement that the primary election “sent an unmistakable message” that Republican primary voters are in favor of school choice and that he would continue to assist those candidates in future elections.

Three Republican members of the Texas State Board of Education were opposed by more conservative candidates, with two of the incumbents being forced into runoffs and the third lost outright.

Every PTA leader I’ve ever known is an advocate. They all go about it in different ways -ways that reflect their personality. Some are feisty, some are collaborative, some are compassionate, some are comfortable working out in front, some prefer leading from behind, and most are a combination of all these. But at their core, every PTA leader I’ve ever known ACTS when they learn of an issue that is or may endanger children. It is the very essence of who we are as PTA leaders and as human beings.

That is why we are proud to bring you this new UTD feature, Advocacy Starts at Home. Our goal is to showcase the great work, big and small, going on in PTA communities around the state.

Rachael Abell
Texas PTA VP Advocacy

On February 19, 2024, three Councils of PTAs worked with other local nonprofits to present the “Central Texas Fentanyl Education Workshop,” at Dell Children's Medical Center North Campus, featuring a vendor fair, an 8-person panel, adult and student breakout sessions, and dinner. 

“The fentanyl crisis became very personal when we lost six children in a year. We knew we had to do something! Our main goal was to educate our students, parents, and community on the crisis, and hopefully save lives.” 

The event began with the sobering video, They Should Be Here. A panel, moderated by Dr. Kate Remik, and made up of doctors, law enforcement, school district administrators, and parents who lost children, took questions. Collectively, panelists agreed that educating parents was the most critical next step.   

Panelist, student breakout moderator, and emergency room physician, Dr. Robert Vezzetti, said a year ago fentanyl was killing more young Americans than COVID-19. Today, “fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for ages 18-45.”

The three Council Presidents want others to know that this crisis is not going to go away and more children will be lost if we don’t do something about it. 

After the event’s success, Dell Children’s Medical Center asked the Council Presidents to collaborate on a second event, and the Texas Health and Human Services Institute invited them to host this same workshop on July 22-26,2024 at the University of Texas, Austin.

I want to send a Texas-sized shoutout to Mellissa Hoskin, Round Rock ISD Council President, Desaray Granzow, Leander ISD Council President, and Kaaren Bell, Hays CISD Council President for their great work on this sobering topic. 

Texas PTA’s mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. That advocacy starts at home and it is all about communication. 

We hear of an issue. | We investigate it. |
We talk to others.| We seek a solution together.

So, how can you advocate in your home community?

The primaries may have come to an end for most candidates, but some are in runoff elections on May 28.

Check here to see if your candidate is in a runoff and mark your calendar now to VOTE!

Share your PTA's advocacy story so others can be inspired!

Whether it's big or small, we want to showcase the impactful work happening in PTA communities across the state. Your story could be the motivation someone else needs to make a difference.

Discover the power of local advocacy with Texas PTA's Advocacy Toolkit. From organizing candidate forums to drafting resolutions, this toolkit equips you with the resources needed to make a difference in your community.

On August 1, 2024 (membership year beginning August 1, 2024), your PTA's Local Dues will remain the same, but PTAs will need to collect an extra $.50 for each new member of the 2024-2025 term to cover the increase for the Texas PTA State Dues.

If your PTA would like to amend the Local Dues amount, we encourage you to begin the process promptly! To help you better understand this adjustment and its implications, we've launched a new webpage with comprehensive information and FAQs.