President’s Message

It takes all of us to make

the best policy for public schools in our state.

As I write this we are nearly two-thirds through the 87th legislative session, and the pace is fast and furious. Thanks to all of you who have done your part to contact legislators and express your thoughts on how legislation under consideration would impact your district. It is vital, especially when some offices in the Capitol are not accepting in-person meetings, that we stay in touch with the members of our delegation and explain how various bills would impact our teachers and students.

I also want to thank the entire TASA Governmental Relations team. Our full-time folks, Amy Beneski and Casey McCreary, Legislative Chair Jodi Duron, as well as several talented, hardworking consultants, make a huge difference in what happens during session. Speaking of that GR team, there is a really well done article in this edition of INSIGHT that looks at the plans to end so-called “taxpayer funded lobbying.” These bills would attempt to silence cities, counties and our school districts from spending any public dollars to inform lawmakers and their staffs about the impact of legislation on our schools and the children we serve.

Under the guise of fiscal conservatism, this is really an attempt to silence our communities, as some in leadership are tired of hearing us disagree with them. In fact, TASA spends 3.16% of member dues on lobbying. For a $250 membership, that is $7.90. For a $1,000 membership, that is $31.60. Compare that to several trips to Austin each session.

Further, groups that work against the interest of public schools often have full-time representatives in the Capitol. In addition, the bills under consideration would not apply to charter schools that are funded 100% with state dollars. The motive is obvious: Silence those you don’t want to hear from.

As the interview with two thoughtful superintendents points out, for most Texas districts, the loss of TASA in this advocacy space would actually increase their costs, as they would be the ones having to travel to Austin to testify and explain to staffers why a particular bill might have negative consequences for their districts. Imagine having to track all of the bills that might impact your district (TASA is tracking approximately 1,000 now) and travel from Miami ISD or San Elizario ISD or Brownsville ISD to testify. Ridiculous. Please look at the talking points that the TASA GR staff have created for this topic and talk to your legislators about this critically important issue. The talking points can be found at: tasanet.org/advocacy/ toolkits-and-resources.

Obviously, there are many issues that we are working through this session. Please continue to look for Capitol Watch updates and Action Alerts over the next several weeks. It takes all of us to make the best policy for public schools in our state. Thank you for everything you do and be well!

Brian T. Woods TASA President Superintendent, Northside ISD