Additional Information

Candidate Survey Responses

RESPONSES TO THE 2026 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

Please describe any specific goals or legislative initiatives you would pursue to strengthen the state’s public education system.

As a state legislator I would fight to increase the basic allotment that school districts receive from the state government. Currently it is $6,160 and will increase to $6,215 in the 2026-27 school year but that is still far too low in comparison to other states in our nation that have better performing schools. I would also push the repeal the private school voucher law that takes public tax dollars and redirects it to private schools. Improvements to teacher pay and retirement benefits are also a priority for me as educators are the backbone of our society and should be treated as such.

The 89th Legislature passed an $8 billion school funding bill, HB 2. However, despite years of unanswered “inflationary challenges, a large majority of that funding was earmarked to specific programs and did not supply districts with significant flexible funding, leaving the majority of Texas students in districts with deficit budgets and other significant funding challenges. Do you believe Texas public schools should receive additional funding? If so, how should the state pay for it, and should that funding be earmarked at the state level or provide districts with flexible dollars?

Public schools definitely need additional funding. They are consistently required to do more to serve students with less funds due to inflationary costs. The state should pay for it by utilizing some of the funding within our rainy day fund that has over $24 Billion dollars. The funding should provide school districts with flexibility to spend it as needed.

Education savings accounts (ESAs) redirect public funds to private or home schools. How do you believe Texas should fund public schools, traditional and charter, alongside ESA vouchers? How should ESA spending be held accountable to taxpayers?

ESA vouchers should not exist. Private schools are not required to serve all students and can reject students at-will. They should not receive public tax dollars if they are not accountable and accessible to the entire general public.

Under HB 2, passed in 2025, all educators in core content courses (math, English, science, and social studies) must be certified by 2030. While this is a good start, more can and should be done to ensure high-quality teachers continue to enter the classroom. What are your suggestions to improve the quality of the new teacher pipeline?

The state government should provide incentives such as expanding student loan forgiveness programs for educators, providing more retirement benefit packages and increasing teacher pay.

The 89th Legislature passed legislation creating a new mechanism to provide only classroom teachers with tiered raises based on early years of service and their district’s student enrollment. While the raises were significant, they did not apply to all campus educators, and the program created a significant negative funding stream at the district level due to unfunded increased costs for non-salary compensation tied to payroll, such as TRS retirement contributions. Do you support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators? How would you ensure that compensation keeps pace with inflation and remains competitive with other professions?

Yes I support a state funded across the board pay raise for all Texas educators. To ensure that compensation keeps pace with inflation teachers should automatically receive cost of living adjustments annually to match the inflation rate as well as pay raises that coincide with years of experience and performance.

The high cost of health insurance for active and retired educators continues to reduce take-home pay, with educators shouldering the vast majority of their ever-increasing heath care costs. How would you address the affordability and sustainability of educator health care, particularly the TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care programs?

The state government must stop shifting the rising health cost of healthcare onto educators. I would push for the state to pay for higher funding for TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care programs and tie it to annual inflation so premiums and out of pocket costs don't continue to reduce teacher take-home pay.

Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) should remain a defined-benefit pension plan for all current and future members? If not, what is your plan to provide a secure retirement for Texas educators, particularly considering that state law has been set up such that most districts do not participate in Social Security?

I support TRS remaining a defined benefit pension plan because of the security it provides current, future and past educators.

The Legislature has passed a new “through-year” multi-test model under HB 8. What role should standardized testing play in evaluating students, teachers, and schools? Should test results continue to determine A–F accountability ratings or teacher pay?

Teachers should have the flexibility to educate their students. They should not teach for a test but rather teach to provide knowledge, understanding and growth in their students. Test results should not determine A-F accountability ratings or teacher pay.

Recent legislative debates have focused on “parental rights” in education. In your view, what is the appropriate balance between accommodating the often conflicting wishes of individual parents while maintaining policies that reflect the broader community’s educational priorities and still providing consistency and an appropriate level of professional deference to educators?

Parents should be involved in their child's education but at the same time there must be respect and deference to the educators who are professionals in their field and are working tirelessly to prepare students for the realities of the world.

HB 3 (2023) imposed new school safety requirements but did not fully fund them. Although the 89th Legislature increased the School Safety Allotment, many districts continue to face substantial unfunded staffing and facility costs associated with school safety laws. How would you make schools safer and ensure the state provides adequate funding to meet safety mandates?

If we are going to mandate schools have increased safety requirements then the state should provide each school district with appropriate funding to ensure they can provide the security for their students and personnel.

What do you believe is the proper role of the State Board of Education, the Texas Education Agency, and local school districts in setting curriculum standards and selecting instructional materials?

The State Board of Education should define what students should know and be able to do at the specific grade levels. The Texas Education Agency should carry out the board standards and goals. The local school districts should be the ones selecting the instructional materials for their specific districts.

State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose allowing public employees to continue exercising this right? Why or why not?

I believe that all public employees should have the right to join professional organizations and unions. Teachers are some of our most important professionals and should have the right to collectively organize and work together to improve their profession and benefits that they receive.

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