Lights, Camera, School Board Meeting! A Tool For Advocacy

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In an era where the value of public education is increasingly under siege, school districts must amplify their outreach to communities. State leaders like Attorney General Ken Paxton are employing tactics to intimidate school districts and their officials into silence, promoting a narrative that undermines public education.

Unfortunately, much of our constituency is only hearing these vocal detractors, as their voices dominate the conversation. School districts must find innovative ways to communicate the severe financial impacts caused by underfunded and unfunded mandates, as well as the state legislature and Governor Abbott’s failure to increase funding for public schools during the last legislative session.

The resources were there, and the need was there, but what wasn’t there was the votes needed to push through Governor Abbott’s agenda to divert resources that could be used to improve our public schools, all in the name of passing his key legislative issue: private school subsidies as a bold attempt to bolster his national appeal and his political aspirations.

Governor Abbott has pushed the narrative that Texas must follow states like Arizona and Florida because they each have two additional high schools in the U.S. News and World Report’s Top 100 U.S. Public High Schools. After all, that ranking fits his narrative. What Texans do not hear about is how Texas ranks 49th in per-pupil funding and dead last in per-pupil spending on employee benefits. These abysmal rankings hurt his narrative. They say convenient figures are a politician’s best friend. This appears to be the case.

The state legislature and Governor Abbott’s failure to act are hurting the 5.5 million students in our public schools, their families, and the 750,000 public school employees. Governor Abbott and out-of-state influencers have spent much of their time and financial war chests waging war on the elected officials who stood in the way of private school subsidies. Governor Abbott continues to trudge ahead and push subsidies as a way to provide opportunities for some students while ignoring the 5.5 million students who are in our underfunded public schools.

One legal and effective way to increase communication is to increase options for community involvement in our public school board meetings. Many community members are unable to attend school board meetings in person, but through technology, new opportunities exist. Districts now have better options to stream and record video and audio, thanks in part to the requirements thrust upon school districts at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with distance learning options. Many used suspended provisions in Texas Open Meetings Act during the pandemic to have virtual school board meetings. Video streaming options offer a great opportunity for school boards to offer greater transparency to the local governance process, demystify issues such as school funding, and provide opportunities for stakeholders to hear about the amazing things happening in their local districts.

Increasing options for involvement allows schools, in a legal way, opportunities to better show stakeholders how state legislatures, whom they help vote into office, are systematically adding new underfunded and unfunded mandates to local school districts, which continue to consume already slim budgets. Governor Abbott continually cites the district’s poor planning of COVID-related federal funding as a reason why school districts are hurting this year. Of course, this is not the case and most Texans know this.

Opening up our board meetings and allowing the general public access to see firsthand how their local school boards are handling the devastating impacts of inflation, mandates, and other pressures will help to dispute and expose the political rhetoric being used by legislators who want to use emotion and carefully crafted messages to garner support for private school subsidies.

It should not matter whether you are required to provide an online viewing option or not. This is one great way to increase accountability and transparency to parents while also allowing the community to have a better understanding of the struggles our school districts are facing. It allows communities an option to become more involved and educated on the devastating impacts imposed by the state legislature and the federal government.

Additionally, it proves to the community and all who wish to watch that the majority of districts do not subscribe to the radical views or approve of the wild out-of-touch policies that we continue to see plastered across newspapers and in the politicians’ narratives. We must find ways to get more than the 18.8% of eligible Texas voters who voted in the March primaries to understand that THEIR VOTES HAVE VALUE. Without votes, our public schools are at risk of even greater devastating cuts in the next legislative session while increasing new educational initiatives that will siphon educational funding from public schools and increase the likelihood of even more questionable school choice accountability mismanagement. Let’s stand together and advocate for the future of our public education!

Jason Carter

Jason Carter is the founder of the Texas Messenger and a dedicated advocate for public education in the Lone Star State. With extensive experience as a Texas school teacher, special education teacher, coach, principal, and school superintendent, Jason brings invaluable insights to his work. His deep understanding of the education system’s challenges and triumphs informs his efforts to empower and engage the community. Through the Texas Messenger, Jason continues to champion the cause of public education, believing in the power of knowledge and advocacy to drive meaningful change.

Jason Carter

Jason Carter is the founder of the Texas Messenger and a dedicated advocate for public education in the Lone Star State. With extensive experience as a Texas school teacher, special education teacher, coach, principal, and school superintendent, Jason brings invaluable insights to his work. His deep understanding of the education system's challenges and triumphs informs his efforts to empower and engage the community. Through the Texas Messenger, Jason continues to champion the cause of public education, believing in the power of knowledge and advocacy to drive meaningful change.