With Texas school vouchers on the horizon, Houston-area families express mixed opinions – Houston Public Media

Voting at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Tolliver — Ashley Tolliver (right) walks toward Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church with her son Nasir to cast her ballot during early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.

Editor’s note: This is the second of two stories about school vouchers and elections. Read first Here.

Keith Hankins doesn’t want Texas to implement a school voucher program.

The resident of Brenham, about 75 miles northwest of Houston, said diverting taxpayer money to public schools would be detrimental to districts like Brenham ISD, which he believes are “very important to society.” He also said that a voucher program proposed last year by Texas lawmakers, which would provide families with more than $10,000 to cover various educational expenses, would in many cases not be enough to cover private school tuition.

Hankins had a chance to voice that opinion during the vote in Texas’ 12th House District, where anti-bonus Democrat Dee Howard Mullins is running against Republican Trey Wharton, who was backed by Gov. Greg Abbott in the March primary as part of a mission to send more voucher-friendly lawmakers to Austin. But before he entered the Washington County Courthouse to cast his ballot last week, Hankins said he planned to vote for Wharton because he is generally politically conservative and generally more aligned with him.

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“This is just one of many problems,” Hankins said. “And when you weigh the scales, you have to vote on what you agree with most. While I disagree with school vouchers, I am not going to vote on just this one issue.”

Dozens of early voters in Houston, Brenham and Pearland – where another state House seat is up for grabs after anti-voucher Republican Ed Thompson decided not to run again, as did Republican Kyle Kacal in the 12th District – said they were issuing the voucher was unjustified. they do not have much influence on the way of voting. But the results of the Nov. 5 election could impact whether lawmakers pass a voter voucher bill during the next legislative session early next year or what type of program is passed.

After 21 Republicans in the House, most of them from rural areas and with a small number of private schools, sided with Democrats to block the voucher proposal last year, Abbott went after opposing Republicans in support of an anti-voucher group. Fifteen of them either lost their primaries or did not seek re-election.

According to Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, few of these House districts favor anti-bonus Democrats, largely because they are overwhelmingly Republican.

West Gray Early Voting — Voters go to the polls at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

“We will see if vouchers will be provided in some form,” he said. “Perhaps it will not be a comprehensive form. Maybe they won’t spend tens of millions of dollars on it. But there will be some voucher program that the state of Texas will try.”

A total of 33 U.S. states offer voucher-style programs. Most give priority to low-income students in struggling public schools or to students with disabilities or special needs. Some programs, like the one in Arizona, are open to all students, with no limits on how many can take advantage of them.

Many voters and residents Houston Public Media spoke to were not well-versed on the issue. Most said they were open to a program that helps families with limited resources get better educational opportunities, but not an initiative that provides money to families who can already afford private school.

“If it’s someone who has the means, I don’t think it’s fair or just,” said Houston resident Veronica Zarate, whose son attends a public charter school. “But if it’s low-income people who can get a better education, I think that’s a good thing.”

Two organizations advocating for private schools in the Houston area and across the state echoed that sentiment. Laura Colangelo of the Texas Private Schools Association, which represents nearly 950 parochial and secular schools serving more than 300,000 students, and Jennifer Allmon of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, which advocates for more than 230 Catholic schools serving more than 61 000 students, said they would support education savings accounts proposed by state lawmakers last year.

Both Allmon and Colangelo said such a program would increase school enrollment and help more families gain access to a private school education.

“The poor need to be prioritized,” Allmon said. “We are not interested in supporting a bill that is intended to enable rich people to get a discount. This is not the basic teaching of the Church.”

But Superintendent Scott Sheppard of Huntsville ISD, which is part of House District 12, says it’s a misconception that vouchers can mean advancement for low-income families. While some private schools in the Houston area charge tuition of less than $10,000 per year, others cost up to two or three times that amount.

Sheppard also said private schools in Texas do not meet the same state accountability standards as their public counterparts. They can also choose who they admit.

Voting at the Tom Reid Library — Voters wait in line at the Tom Reid Library in Pearland, Texas, on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

“On the surface, it might seem like a great idea,” Sheppard said. “But the reality is that this won’t necessarily open up better educational pathways for all children, as some may think.”

Sheppard and two other Houston-area superintendents, Anthony Mays of Alief ISD and Larry Berger of Pearland ISD, expressed concerns that the voucher program would further reduce resources allocated to Texas public schools. As of 2019, state lawmakers have not increased the $6,160 per student allowance for public schools.

Stagnant state funding combined with inflation leaves these and many other districts struggling with budgets. Sheppard said Abbott was “holding funding hostage.”

“During the last session, he publicly stated that he would not increase funding for public schools unless the Legislature passed vouchers,” Sheppard said. “He said he had no intention of adequately funding public schools unless he had his way. If he wins in the election cycle, it won’t be a very fair fight.”

Some local families who could benefit from the voucher program have said they are not interested. Pearland resident Stefanie Ford homeschools her son, but said she won’t accept voucher money to cover her expenses, saying it’s “extremely important” that those funds remain in public schools.

Viula Torgerson, whose sons attend a private Montessori school in Houston, agrees.

“We all benefit from a well-educated society, no matter which path you choose,” she said. “My taxes go to public schools, not private schools – and certainly not parochial schools.”

Voting at the Washington County Courthouse — Campaign signs stuck in the grass outside the Washington County Courthouse in Brenham, Texas, Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

But there are also public school parents who support the voucher program, such as Jason McClure of Pearland and Thiess Cunningham of Brenham.

“I should be able to take my taxes and my baby wherever I want,” McClure said.

Ashley Tolliver is a Humble ISD graduate whose 3-year-old son attends a private Catholic school in Houston’s predominantly Black Third Ward. She said she spends nearly $800 a month on tuition and would “definitely” want help with those costs.

Her son has been attending a private school since August.

“You see the difference: ‘yes, ma’am,’ ‘no,’ how smart he is and what he picks up on,” Tolliver said. “What she’s saying is, compared to someone I actually know, her kid doesn’t know as much as him and they’re the same age.”

Berger and Sheppard spoke in favor of public school systems, which they believe offer broader educational and extracurricular offerings than most private schools. They say they wouldn’t necessarily see a decline in enrollment if the voucher program were passed, but they are concerned about a potential decline in state funding.

Regardless of the election results and who travels to Austin for the January legislative session, Berger said he hopes elected officials will consider the wide range of Texas students and their educational needs.

“All I ask is that when legislators do this, they listen to their communities and what they want,” Berger said. “Do what is best for all students, not only those who want a private education, but also those who still attend public schools.”