Education is front and center in the race for Texas House District 70 — specifically voters’ opinions on school vouchers.
The Democrat incumbent, Rep. Mihaela Plesa, and her Republican challenger, Steve Kinard, offer different positions on education savings accounts — what opponents call school vouchers and supporters call school choice. And whoever voters send to Austin could signal how this suburban district leans on the issue.
Gov. Greg Abbott tried to get what he calls school choice passed last legislative session. The plan would’ve allowed parents to use state funds for private school tuition through education savings accounts.
A group of Texas House Democrats and rural Republicans blocked that bill from passing, including Plesa, who said school vouchers are harmful to public schools.
But her Republican opponent said education savings accounts increase educational freedom and allow for a free market of ideas.
“School choice is putting the control back at the community level,” Kinard said.
His support of school vouchers earned Kinard an endorsement from the governor, as Abbott's vowed to continue pushing for “school choice” once the legislature reconvenes in January. Abbott also backed several primary opponents of incumbent Republicans who voted with Democrats to oppose education savings accounts last year.
Five of those anti-voucher Republicans lost their primaries outright and six lost to Abbott-endorsed challengers in primary runoffs.
Abbott’s education plan is likely to pass this upcoming legislative session.
Colleen Dippel supports education savings accounts and said they wouldn’t take money away from public schools. Dippel, the founder and CEO of the education nonprofit Families Empowered, said education savings accounts give parents the freedom and resources to decide what’s best for their child regardless of income.
“We’re going to trust them,” Dippel said. “We’re going to empower them to have the opportunity to all have access to the same choices.”
But opponents argue vouchers would derail public school funding in a state that hasn’t seen a funding increase since 2019. A House bill introduced during the last legislative session would’ve raised the basic allotment — the amount each district is given based on enrollment. But the bill died after lawmakers removed money to fund school vouchers.
The basic allotment remains $6,160 per student, and the lack of increased funding is a challenge, even for wealthier districts. In Texas House District 70, which includes a portion of Plano ISD, the school district has had a budget deficit for several years despite its property wealth. School board trustees recently voted to close four campuses next school year because of budget concerns.
Local property taxes in Plano create a lot of revenue but the school district doesn’t get to keep all that money. Any extra property tax dollars Plano ISD collects get sent to the state, which redistributes the money to districts without as much property wealth through a process called recapture.
Plesa said the education savings account plan would hurt districts that send millions back to the state through recapture.
“These types of bills don’t ever take into account districts like Plano ISD, Frisco ISD and Allen ISD that are all recapture districts,” she said. “We are already doing our part to lift all boats.”
Plesa said she’s pushing for school finance reform and even filed legislation last session on the issue. One bill Plesa filed last session focused on “taxparency,” which would have showed taxpayers where their dollars end up on their bills.
Kinard also wants to see school finance reform but is more focused on the recapture system. He said it lacks transparency and fairness. He also said school choice would lead to more investment in public schools — not less — since most people would choose to send their children to local public schools.
“Investing in the student is investing in public education,” Kinard said.
But Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said voucher-like programs did not lead to increased funding for Texas public schools in the past.
“We may try that again, but it’s likely to fail again,” Jillson said.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For America corps member for KERA News.
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