DALLAS — When lawmakers started the legislative session back in January, they had the benefit of a $33 billion surplus.
That had school districts and teachers all across Texas dreaming big.
But after all of the politics got in the way, teachers walked away with nothing.
“It’s truly mind boggling that we’re having a conversation with a $33 billion surplus and teachers have seen zero dollars. That, to me, it’s almost like a Twilight Zone kind of episode,” DISD superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Not only did teachers receive no raises, but lawmakers also failed to boost funding for school districts as well.
And even though the issue could be addressed during a special session, Elizalde said she isn’t holding her breath.
“Right now, I don’t think we can expect any help,” she said. “It’s clear that it didn’t matter what the surplus was because if we wanted to support public schools, then we would have. And we haven’t seen it. We haven’t even heard an inkling of it. And I think it’s very concerning, truly, for our community.”
Lawmakers did pass a school safety bill that mandates at least one armed security officer on every campus.
But Elizalde says the state hasn’t provided enough money for districts to painlessly pull it off.
She says the bill provided 28 cents per student, $15,000 per campus.
And 140 schools in DISD would need an armed officer.
“When you put all that together, I’m looking at about $10 Million that we would have to cut from somewhere in order to fund that,” Elizalde said.