It’s nearly impossible for me to live comfortably on my teachers salary. After buying groceries and paying bills, there’s no leftover money for things like clothes and gas, toiletries etc. it’s a real struggle. I love teaching and don’t want to give up my career but I may have to do that I can support my family.

Public schools have been modifying and diversifying their curriculum for years in order to offer the most choices possible to students with varying interests. There is no way that a private school or a home school can offer opportunities that a unified public school system can offer students through their magnet school programs when given proper funding. What private school can offer choir, orchestra, band, dance, engineering, medicine, construction academy, architecture, communication arts, multiple languages, computer science, art, and every sport imaginable? Talk about school choice! The voucher system proposed is nothing more than a proposal to sequester the best and brightest away from the average. As a result, average students lose roll models for intellectual advancement. Charter and private schools are not held to the same standards as public schools; they pick and choose their students, rejecting students who need more assistance. Vouchers give parents some choices, but private and charter schools are not bound to honor their choices. When are you going to level the playing field for this so called competition? Our children are not only learning what is expected, they are learning to be kind, respectful, responsible human beings. If you fritter away our educational dollars on anything and everything that''s out there, you dilute the power of our dollars. Education can do nothing but become more mediocre if you spread the money too thin. State funding for charter and private schools is a fad that will do nothing to educate our children properly. Give Texas a proper, fully-funded educational system, and let private schools continue as they always have, giving scholarships to needy students who want to attend with the support of their communities. Teachers have been short-changed in pay for decades. Now the state is undercutting funding for school infrastructure and support staff. Who do we think is going to educate (not indoctrinate) students when we undermine and destroy our public education system? The state will be left holding the bag when all of our under-educated children begin to flounder. Who will they come to for support? THE STATE. To avoid a failed public education system, the state needs to fund it. That means, pay our teachers appropriately for the work they do and give them the support staff required to insure students are getting the full benefits of their education. Don''t skimp on the arts. It has been proven that the arts augment core academic subjects and they give students the incentive to persevere through difficult required subjects. We want our people to be educated. If we don''t fund public education, we are condemning it. When administrations have to rob Peter to pay Paul, the state is depriving students of a well-rounded, high quality education. Pay teachers and give them a system that honors their expertise and lifts them up to the level of respectability of professionals. Let''s stop treating them like dirt, and we will have more of them. Vouchers are antithetical to this vision. We need less standardized testing and more educational innovation. As a teacher in a title l school, I saw the best and brightest professionals educate the most difficult students in a way that built self-esteem and fostered a love of learning. Standardized testing has continued the educational move toward mediocrity, because our bright, professional teachers have been reduced to test educators and monitors. When real teaching goes on, students are energized and engaged. The hours and hours of professional development that teachers endure to improve their ability to reach students is lost when education becomes about testing and how to improve outcomes. Outcomes will improve when students are engaged and energized. Let''s make sure that is the priority, not feeding our insatiable desire for numbers and measurement. Let''s make sure our teachers true talents are used to the fullest. Let''s use testing as a way to tell us of our multiple successes, rather than to be our only success.

Teachers deserve higher pay! no vouchers.

Teachers need raises and shouldn’t be tied to vouchers.

Higher Pay! No Vouchers! Less Testing!

As a public school educator, I ask that you do away with high stakes testing. These are not what is best for students. Also, parents have a choice now on where to send their kids to school. If they choose private school, then that is their choice and they are choosing to pay for it as well. Lastly, teachers are the most important and high pressure jobs in our country at the moment. I believe they should be compensated appropriately! And the compensation should not be tied to school choice vouchers.

Imagine a school where kids are disciplined for their actions. Held accountable for what they say and do. Potentially kicked out of school for not meeting expectations. As a teacher, I think this is a major problem with our public schools, a source of frustration for teachers and a leading reason why we currently have a teacher shortage. Because of this added stress we say we need more money to deal with these problems. If kids have to act better and parents need to fall in line, doesn’t that reduce teacher stress and increase the amount of individuals who want to teach? I see numerous complaints about testing. Yet we say” No to vouchers “. Why? Are we afraid of competition? Do we fear losing our jobs? Change is hard, but sometimes, change promotes growth. One of the best aspects of free market capitalism is competition. Look at how our college system is run. Basically a voucher system. FAFSA money can go to public or private schools. Look how competitive colleges are. How they can specialize for students. We have some high school’s with up to 6,000 students and we expect to do a great job teaching the whole array. Imagine a school that specialized in kids who specifically struggle in a subject. Paired with a teacher who wants to teach exactly that type of student. If we approve vouchers and students go to private schools the simple law of supply and demand finds private schools hiring more teachers. What if you worked at a school that could give you raise based on how well you teach rather than how many years experience you have. The state of Texas pays just over $6,000 per student. Times that by your average class size. Is that anywhere near your wage? Where is that money going? Support staff, administration, wasteful spending, technology you don’t use, repairs for student damage that don’t get charged to them? Government run public systems are notorious for wasteful spending. You want a raise, approve vouchers. Watch students get a chance to go to a private school, see private schools hire more employees and pay better. Less testing, financially more responsible, less useless training. If you are preaching “say no to vouchers” I only ask that you think critically about it and do some deep research as to why you believe that. The exact same thing you ask of your students.

SUPPORT our TEXAS students, NO to vouchers, increase teacher pay & less testing, please!

Teachers need a pay raise not tied to vouchers !

Higher pay! No vouchers!

No vouchers……. We need higher pay so that we are not living paycheck to paycheck. Where we are able to take care of the medical needs of our families without feeling the financial pinch. Some months I have to sacrifice groceries to be able to afford medicine and therapy. This should never have to be a choice I should have to make.

No vouchers!

Teachers are leaving the field because we are undervalued and burned out from dealing with so many issues beyond our control. Higher pay and more EFFECTIVE testing methods would be a step in the right direction to help remedy the current teacher shortage.

We want proper funding for our schools, a teacher pay raise, a lower testing and accountability burden, and NO VOUCHERS! Stop wasting money on extensive testing.

It is the state’s responsibility to provide all students with quality public education. If peopwant to send their kids to a private school they need to pay for it. Like it’s always been. The voucher system only diminishes public education by taking away funds. Public education teachers need to be valued and it’s about time we get paid accordingly. We hardly make ends meet with our salary. Low teacher pay, the rise in cost of living plus inflation is the reason many highly skilled good teachers leave the profession. Testing should not be the only measure of success in schools. There is no time for creativity and innovation if we only have time to teach to the test. Please do away with testing.

Absolutely no to vouchers!! No reason for them! Choice to go to private school; those who go don''t need the money!! Our school teachers need and deserve raises! Big raises!! TX is going backward in education- push, push, push...test, test, test. LET TEACHERS TEACH!! Trust us as professionals!!

For the betterment of our students, our teachers, and for all Texans, we must invest more in public education. We must invest in our future and the way we do that is by increasing funding for our Texas public schools. Do the right thing for Texas kids. No to vouchers more to public schools to provide the supports they need.

Higher salaries are needed for teachers! NO to vouchers. They will not improve anything. Less testing would allow days for more teaching. These are the tests we give at our school. Unit tests, 9 week tests, benchmark tests, Map testing (6 days), PSAT, ASVAB, SAT/ACT, STAAR, Semester Exams, AP exams. It is enough!

Teachers deserve higher pay!! Definitely less state mandated testing and NO VOUCHERS!!

Teachers are being pushed to the limit in Texas, and it shows with teacher retention. How could vouchers possibly be the answer to that problem? The answer will come in paying teachers what they DESERVE to be paid and providing more support. It''s time Texas started respecting it''s teachers and the future of the state.

It is TIME to start treating ALL TEACHERS as Highly Qualified Employees, this would equal better pay, professional courtesy, and solid support with parents and students. In a time where we are demanding students to be Career and College ready we need to ensure that we have the most competive pay with other professionals to ensure the best pool of teachers for our Texas students. No vouchers for private schools as this would deplete funding to support public schools which is the primary focus of the State of Texas and TEA. Please support your Teachers in the same way that you would want your children to be supported.

No Vouchers! Higher Pay for Teachers! Far Less Testing! Teach to the Students!

Teachers need better pay, not an insignificant raise that ends on the negative side with all the raised fees on taxes, insurance and a worse insurance each year. We work hard on a daily basis and are only paid on contracted hours. I take home work on a daily basis in order to have done what I need to for the next day. I also pay a lot of my own money for student and classroom needs that the district refuses to help with and cries about the amount of ink or paper we use. The demand for teachers is high and it is only going to get worse if you do not show them you care. The voucher system is not going to help any of that, it will only affect any possibility for teacher raises! I want to be there for my kids and make a difference. But with the added stress and regulations it gets harder and harder. Stop spending money on testing and other things that are frivolous and only help the big guys downtown get richer!

Higher Pay! No Vouchers! Less Testing! Teach to the Students!

It''s 2023, education should be at its best, rather it is crumbling before our eyes. The only way to improve it, is to improve the treatment of teachers, higher pay and less testing. Give teachers the respect that they deserve! The schooling and testing they need to be certified to even be a teacher is top notch now pay them a top notch salary.

Teachers are not being paid fairly for the amount of education, commitment, and time we dedicate to a job where we already feel unappreciated. The salaries of every other occupation are at least trying to match the cost of living, while we are barely surviving! Testing feels more and more like a measurement to control teachers and their pay than it does a tool to help our students. 8 year old children do not need to be taking a standardized test for 7 hours straight, some of which are not even finishing. In any other situation, asking a child that young to sit and work for that long uninterrupted would be a literal crime. My heart broke watching bright, young children have panic attacks, cry, and worry themselves sick over a test. Us teachers deserve better. Our children deserve better.

Teachers need a livable wage. Teachers are leaving education because they can make more money with less stress, fewer hours, and more respect. We put everything we have into making a better future but at what cost? The teacher crisis is real! The educational system is crumbling and we need help before it’s too far gone! Please thing about that before you take funds for private schools. Please help keep quality teachers!

No vouchers. Education to strengthen our teachers and raise pay for the profession and not lesson the image of past and present educators who have put so much effort into the state of Texas.

With the added stress the state has mandated for teachers I can see why sp many of us are walking away from our passion. We deserve better pay. It''s disheartening how many people I tell that I''m a teacher and their response is "oh, I don''t know how you do it. Kids are so disrespectful these days." Yes, many of them are. It''s left to us to teach them, and MANY other students, curriculum along with how to be a good person. We do magical work. Show us you care by mandating an increase in state wide salaries for educators. Also, no vouchers! That''s a choice parents can make to send their children somewhere besides public schools. Maybe if behaviors weren''t so terrible in public schools more people would choose to put their kids there and vouchers wouldn''t even be topic for discussion. By approving vouchers the state is just agreeing that our public education system is failing and they want to support others to send their kids elsewhere. Invest that money into our public education system to enrichen it with resources like behavioral teachers or interventionist.

You can’t ignore teachers needs forever. With the ever increasing teacher shortage, why would you ignore teachers when there was so much more budget money to work with? Also, unless there was some kind of deal struck behind closed doors, we already know the bill will not pass with vouchers attached. We have already seen that it will not pass with vouchers attached.

Higher Pay For Teachers! Less Testing! NO VOUCHERS! Pay raise should reflect the rise in inflation!

Please teachers need higher pay with less testing! Not only will benefit teacher retention but it will also draw highly qualified people to the profession. Our kids and teachers deserve better.

Please..... No vouchers Teachers need higher pay.

Teachers need better pay. We work hard on a daily basis and are only paid on contracted hours. I take home work on a daily basis in order to have done what I need to for the next day. The demand for teachers is high and it is only going to get worse if you do not show them you care. The voucher system is not going to help any of that! I want to be there for my kids and make a difference. But with the added stress and regulations it gets harder and harder.

Higher pay!! No vouchers!! Less testing!! Teach to the student!!

No to vouchers. It is not fair that the rich get good private education because they can afford to pay for it. That is a choice to send their children there. Good public education should be available for all individuals not only those blessed with that opportunity. Reduction in testing needs to happen as we over test and overwhelm our students with these restraints which takes away from true learning and understanding. You need to pay more to educators. You get what you pay for and that is not right to our future generations to have less quality teachers because the good ones wont do it anymore because they cannot afford to.

Please consider raising the pay for our teachers who give selflessly to their students. I also ask that you do away with state testing that causes more mental stress on our students. A one day test does NOT show a student''s full growth in that subject. Absolutely NO vouchers should ever be considered in our educational system! Thank you for your service to our beautiful state and people of Texas.

Pay teachers affordable wages! We are allowed to have contracts that add extra hours on, but we are not compensated for those hours. We work hard to provide an education to students, but the workload does not equal compensation. We need less testing! The test do not help students at all. Moving the test to only online does not help either. If you care about the development of students you will reconsider all state testing. No to vouchers as well. You are only harming schools, not putting the students future into consideration. Please reconsider if you are actually trying to help the public school system and most importantly students!

No vouchers! Teachers need better pay. The raises teachers receive, if any, do not compare to inflation rate/cost of living.

Higher pay!! No vouchers!! Less testing!

Is it confusing to choose to pay teachers enough money? Shouldn''t we want to give students the best education we can offer? Or am I confused?

Not to vouchers!!! Student loan forgiveness is desperately needed! Teachers deserve a higher pay!!! We don’t get 3 months off anymore but still get paid as such. We get a total of 6 weeks. Most every professional job gets that many vacation days a year. We should get paid the hours we work! LESS TESTING... of NO benefit to students, stresses them out and students lose VALUABLE INSTRUCTION TIME. Public schools need higher pay, Less testing and NO vouchers.

Public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers!

No Vouchers! Take care of the teachers we have and pay more! New teachers coming in are making as much as a teacher with years of experience.

NO TO VOUCHERS!!! The quality of education for our children depends on resources and support for all educators. Teachers are struggling to afford to stay in the profession they so love and pour their hearts and souls into. Please demonstrate the need and care for our educators. All other professions in the world depend on having quality educators and opportunities, both public or private.

Higher teacher pay, less state mandated testing, and absolutely NO VOUCHERS

It’s sad to know teachers will be leaving their professional career because we simply do not make enough for our day to day lives. The cost of living has gone up, therefore, the salary we earn should go up with it. It is very simple. We love our students and do not teach for vouchers. Most of us teach for two reasons; because we love our kiddos and making the positive deference, and because we found a career (paying career) to support what we love to do.

Please say no to vouchers. We are already in a state of crisis; unable to retain awesome educators because of low pay, disrespect, and constanlty increasing workload (without extra compensation). Many of us work more than more than 12 hours a day to get it all done and be prepared for the next day, only to receive this slap in the face. Where is the respect for one of the most precious and needed occupations? Parents should be able to send their students to a private school if desired, but not at our expense. Also, there needs to be less focus on mandated tested and more focus on attendance. It''s difficult to teach the child who constantly skips due to test anxiety. Raises for teachers would be great, but if not, then at least stop adding "one more thing, and one more thing to our plates"!

Absolutely NO to vouchers. Even states who are using them are NOT able to deliver what lawmakers promised. It will ONLY create more problems in the long run!! Public schools need to be funded appropriately and the teachers who dedicate their time and what little money they have to the students of this state need to be PAID as the educated and licensed professionals that they are!

Absolutely HECK NO to vouchers. Increase teacher pay IMMEDIATELY, no strings attached. I am going into year 7 as a teacher and coach. If these problems are not addressed, I’m not sure if I will stay in it and many other educators as well. Take steps to IMPROVE education. Not make it worse.

I agree with higher pay, and less testing. I also agree WITH VOUCHERS. THAT SHOULD BE A PARENTS RIGHT. THEY should not have to subject their children to what is being taught and what goes on in the public school sustem if they don''t want to. THEY PAY TAXES TOO and should definately have that FREEDOM OF CHOICE!

Investing in our teachers is an investment in our children's education. Give teachers a pay raise! By providing better salaries and benefits, we can attract highly qualified individuals to the teaching profession and improve the overall quality of education in our schools. Let’s minimize testing so teachers can dedicate more time to meaningful classroom activities and individualized instruction. Say No to vouchers.

No to vouchers!!! There''s a reason why outstanding seasoned educators are leaving their careers in droves in search of respect, dignity, and fair compensation- oftentimes outside the world of education. Meanwhile, freshfaced newbies are being recruited, only to last a handful of years before the stress and pressure break them. Teaching is a noble profession, but tragically undervalued and increasingly, toxically stressful. Happy, supported teachers = successful, thriving students and members of society!

Bottom line is vouchers are not the answer! If you care about kids, we need less testing and more authentic learning experiences and exploration. If you want to keep teachers, they should be paid accordingly. They work well beyond their contract hours spending much of their own money and time to enhance learning for their students.

NO VOUCHERS!!!! Respect Texas public school teachers AND their students!

No to vouchers!! They will destroy education. Public School Teachers deserve higher pay. Quit wasting money on STAAR testing.

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

As an educator I can’t believe this is even a discussion! Teachers need to be taken care of! NO TO VOUCHERS!

No vouchers

Teaching is one of the hardest jobs, and one of the most useful to society. Yet teachers are paid less than other job that don''t even require a degree! Teachers will continue to leave the profession if salaries doesn''t change. Stop throwing money into wasteful programs and invest in teachers!

As an educator I want proper funding for our schools, a teacher pay raise, a lower testing and accountability burden, and definitely NO VOUCHERS!

TEACHERS NEED RAISES! Public schools need higher pay, less testing, and NO VOUCHERS. Our voices should matter. No way I could pay my house payment and provide for my family if I was a single parent. I went to private school growing up, my parents chose to pay to put me in private education. My mother was a public school education principal, she is now retired and teaching in private schools. We CHOSE private education for religion purposes only not the education. Vouchers is not fair to public teachers, and would hurt FREE public school system. Fix what we have stop working to create something else.

Hello No vouchers. Pay teacher what we are worth. Why are you turn educators in to commissions sales people? Just simply give a pay raise and support us.

No vouchers please, to retain and attract good teachers there needs to be higher and less testing.

No vouchers! Quality pay for public school teachers! Less state testing!

NO to VOUCHERS YES to HIGHER PAY for Public ED

Not to vouchers!!! Teachers deserve a pay raise!!! We don’t get 3 months off anymore but still get paid as such. We get a total of 6 weeks. Most every professional job gets that many vacation days a year. We should get paid the hours we work!

If you want Texas public education to stand ANY chance of future success, there can be absolutely NO vouchers, there MUST BE a long-term, sustainable LIVING WAGE increase, and stop testing our kids to death! Give teachers AND SUPPORT STAFF the pay raises they deserve… and that’s not a starting salary of $33,660! In case you’re unaware, that’s Texas’s minimum required salary! Gag! You try and live off of that salary! This is an awesome state, but it’s time we start literally putting our money where our mouth is! Come on, Legislators! Do what you know is right!

As an educator, I would hope that the state respects the profession enough to understand that we deserve a pay raise. Not anyone can walk into a classroom and do what a teacher does every day. Teachers are so much to their students. They not only teach lessons in academics but also in kindness, social skills, mindfulness, and more! Teachers deserve a raise for all extra things that they do to grow, love, and inspire students to do their best and be whoever they want to be! No vouchers, less testing, more resources, and people who understand what it’s like in classrooms today should be making these decisions. It’s getting harder and harder to be a teacher and it’s not because of the students; it’s because of the educational system in the state.

I think it is about time we as teachers look at who voted against teacher raises, better benefits, and look when they come up for re-election. We as teacher here in Texas have the power to put the right people in those sits.

No to Vouchers. As a teacher who has taught for 9 years in a low socioeconomic title 1 district, this would destroy education for small schools. This will inevitably lead to a severe segregation of class and lower pay. This is the opposite of equity.

It’s time to let these committee members know you want proper funding for our schools, a teacher pay raise, a lower testing and accountability burden, and NO VOUCHERS!

YES to charter schools and increase pay for ALL teachers. My favorite thing about being a TEXAN is that I as a parent get to choose HOW & WHO EDUCATES MY CHILDREN. FREEDOM OF CHOICE. and I want my tax dollars to directly Benefit my children wherever I choose my children to attend school. As an Educator, myself, we should all get an Increase in pay. btw, Not All students who attend private school are rich, it’s not true. My parents sent me because they did not like the options. They sacrificed a lot of money because the public schools were not what they wanted at all. I send my kids to a charter school, it’s the curriculum I like for my kids. There’s discipline, kids aren’t allowed to be cussing and disruptive. We have a peaceful school and where my kids go to school is the deciding factor of where I will abide our kids are happy and feel safe. When kids leave public school and come to charter school, no matter the economic background, parents are telling me what a relieving change it is and they are thrilled. I like the smaller setting and so do our loyal Texan families. We deserve this option too.

I am tired of all the responsibilities a teacher has and there are always much higher expectations from a teacher without any pay Saying all this the pay for a teacher stays the same while around us our economy is changing, teacher expectations is also required, but still no change for teacher pay. Makes no sense as we educate our leaders in this world. I dont see it necessary for vouchers that is just a way to not raise teacher pay. Lets do what is right for our professional educators. Lets quit focusing so much on testing and pay our professional teachers and get help to educate our students. by also providing help for all that is required of a teacher. Wake up world and see what differences has the staar testing done??? NOTHING! But you have educators leaving the profession because of all required for 1 teacher. I dont understand why people who are not professional educators have a right to make changes when they have no CLUE. Go teach for a month and see what education is all about. I promise its not just about testing and teaching. You have teachers helping students with mental health problems who are abused and have a hard time learning in a classroom. I am all about teacher pay, no vouchers and the best testing for our students and not the STAAR.

No vouchers Higher pay Less testing

I grew up with my family working in education. My grandmother was a teacher as well as my mom. I am now a teacher and realize the true struggle. Many people don’t realize how bad it truly is until they have to face it on a daily basis. It’s not even that we as teacher are being excessive. It’s hard to not spend our own money that we earn as a teacher because we want to help our student and give them what they truly need. If we as teachers only relied on what the government or our individual schools gave us as far as resources and materials we would be even worse off than we are now. I can’t even begin to explain how much money I have spent alone or how much I have seen my mother or grandmother spend to not only have basic necessities, but things that will truly benefit our students. Seeing that so much of our own pay goes into our student a pay raise is needed. As many hours as we have to put in outside of the classroom many people don’t realize how much outside work truly goes into it.

No to vouchers! Teachers are over worked and under paid! Why do politicians refuse to support us! We need your support, not your hatred!

No to vouchers and yes to teacher pay raises

Pay raises to teaching staff will benefit all teachers, students, and society. Vouchers are NOT the solution!

At some point we have to start putting public schools first! These tests are not developmentally appropriate, teachers deserve better pay. Fight for the kids if nothing else. Put the funds into the schools not testing.

No to vouchers! Give Public School the funding support they have needed for years. We are losing valuable experienced teachers if funding and healthcare for teachers is not changed for the better we stand to lose more.

NO TO THE VOUCHERS. Less testing with an increase of pay can help build the retention of teachers.

If you want to see education in our state improve then we need higher pay for teachers. Your voucher program is trying to improve private education and hurt public schools. Stop trying to improve what the state isn’t responsible for (private schools). Our legislators are responsible to public education. Take away all the strings attached for public school and let’s let the educated professionals do what they do best. Teach!!

Vouchers uncouple wealthier families from buying into the benefits they receive from the public schools systems. The workers they hire are only able to perform because of the educational foundation they received from taxpayer financed education. Any voucher that diverts this investment in the greater public good further separates the working class from top earners. And tying that concept to teacher raises is despicable. As a teacher if I were to choose between no vouchers or a raise, I choose no vouchers.

Lawmakers, public schools need higher pay, less testing, and ABSOLUTELY NO VOUCHERS!

No to vouchers we need a pay raises. You guys are not in the classrooms so you don’t know the struggle teachers have to go through. Also we are the ones that have been teaching children to get jobs that pay way more than teachers pay and the teachers are the ones who taught them things they need to know to be successful. Even some of the parents are sending their children for the teachers to raise them and teach them what’s right or wrong. We are doing our jobs and the parents jobs but are the most underpaid profession where everyone started…. In the classroom with the teacher

No to vouchers, yes to pay raise, no to testing. Public educator and coach for 15 yrs.

The voucher system sabotages and undermines the opportunity for all students to have the same advantages in acquiring a strong and solid education. While legislators are wasting time manipulating and using tactics to remove funding that is vital to the survival of public schools, they should be seeking ways to provide more funding for public schools to provide better pay to attract quality instructors, provide for better facilities, and better resources for the welfare of ALL students.

Absolutely NO to vouchers! The members of congress making these rules and judgements should roll up their sleeves and join the educators in the trenches. It is not a fantasy world like they think. We do not get paid for the hours we work. We don’t even make minimum wage if you calculate the hours and pay. We don’t get summers off. We are made to train and continue taking education course to better our test scores. Children are more than a test score. They are dealing with things that most of the members of congress will never know about. However, congress doesn’t care about those circumstances. Their focus is to keep the testing so outrageous that schools and taxpayers are having to spend more and more money for curriculum they develop along with the textbook companies to line their own pockets. They don’t care about our education system. It’s all about money. If you want a better future with independent and successful students, then put the money into the classrooms and teachers’ salaries! We make very little, yet we spend our personal money to pay for the items needed to teach our classes. The government so graciously allows us to use $250.00 as a tax credit even though teachers spend thousands of dollars of their own money. Ridiculous! It’s time to do what’s right for our education system. No vouchers…no ridiculous testing that’s not even age appropriate (the stress on students is absurd!), and teacher pay raises would be a great start!

Teachers get no social security. Teachers are highly undervalued and underpaid. So many schools expect so much unpaid time/work from teachers. Our country''s future depends on having good teachers. Teachers deserve to be compensated fairly. Give teachers a significant, permanent pay raise. Teaching to pass a test is not working. Teachers need to be allowed actually to teach students how to learn concepts and ideas, instead of how to pass a test. No vouchers.

NO to vouchers!!! Teachers need and deserve higher pay! Schools need less testing.

I agree with no vouchers, higher pay, and less testing. Our kids need more learning and less stressful testing.

I urge you to reject vouchers. Public school teachers deserve more, like adequate pay for all the roles we assume everyday. As a professional educator I also am a taxpayer. I do not want my taxes to support vouchers, NO, to vouchers.

I am an educator of 33 years it is senseless to tie pay raises to vouchers. We love our profession as educators and we spend endless hours and our own money for classroom supplies. Asa public school teacher we need higher pay to help support our families and enjoy vacation time with our families.. We say NO to testing. It is stressful to our students who perform well in the classroom. And please NO to vouchers!

Absolutely NO to vouchers. As an educator it’s simply demeaning that an increase in pay is not being take more seriously. Our future depends on education! We need resources, we need staff that have degrees or have the industry experience. You don’t get that by offering a pay scale lower than the cost of living.

Please do not tie vouchers to teacher pay. It is so sad that my salary and the equitable education of students across Texas is little more than a political issue.

Public schools need more pay, not more testing and no vouchers.

Teachers deserve more for all they are required to do! Think of all the money teachers spend out of their own pockets to educate the children that are our future! If it was not for teachers the people of our government would not exist! Thank a teacher and help them out!

Smaller school districts need the funding that lawmakers are attempting to pump into the voucher bill. I oppose the idea of taking public school funding to fund the private sector. No to vouchers.

Teachers in public schools deserve higher pay. We did not spend four years in college to obtain bachelor''s degrees to make such little pay. Our students got behind due to COVID, and we''ve been playing catch-up ever since. Our students need to be tested less so we can actually focus on teaching and not focusing on "the test". Absolutely NO vouchers!

Let''s increase the pay for teachers! Stop the testing madness! Vouchers should be sent to private school teachers so that the schools can lower the cost of tuition for the parents. This way ALL TEACHERS can get a pay raise!

No vouchers. Teachers need a substantial pay raise and it is insulting that vouchers would even be suggested to be tied to teacher pay!

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and NO vouchers!

The answer is not vouchers for Private schools. Public schools need our Government’s support. We need higher pay, we are falling behind because of this economy. We need less testing and more support. Many private schools do not even do STAAR which has been mandated to us by the state. NO vouchers! Show more support to your public school system which have been following your mandates.

Please give a hard NO to vouchers and to state testing. You really need to respect teachers for being the hard working dedicated professionals that they are and give a substantial pay raise to them. It''s so sad that our 4%yearly raise doesn''t even cover increased insurance (with decreased benefits) or take into consideration cost of living increases. I''ve been in the classroom for over 30 years. I love my job but honestly feel so overwhelmed and underappreciated by our state government. Please do you job so we can and want to continue to do ours.

Vouchers to help rich parents should be a NO! Please help the educators. I am a public school teacher and spend a portion of each of my SMALL paycheck to put the things I need in my classroom. Increasing pay for teachers will help our students and school, while helping teachers in these incredibly hard times.

No to vouchers.

Teachers need higher pay.

As a U.S. Navy Veteran, I honestly feel that Texas teachers deserve a really good pay raise not vouchers. A pay raise pays the bills, car repairs, house repairs, food, education tuition, child care, clothing, car payment, house payment, and other expenses. Vouchers can''t pay for these. I have read that Texas has billions of dollars in reserves to spend on teacher raises. If the state of Texas gives teachers a $15,000 a year pay raise, there will be a great deal of money left over for future use. I really don''t understand how teachers are making peanuts compared to other professionals in this country. Teachers are the ones who prepare our students for graduation, college, and how to be great citizens in this country. Teachers are the ones who prepare our nation''s leaders for the future. Please give teachers the pay raises they deserve.

NO VOUCHERS!!!!! Public schools need higher wages and no vouchers. Teachers are working harder than ever to keep up with testing demands, and we are making learning experiences better than ever! Teachers deserve to be paid for their hard work. It is hard to stay in education when there are so many other jobs out there that are easier and pay way more. I don’t want to feel this way, because my heart and soul is in my classroom teaching kids!!!! No vouchers, higher pay raises for public schools! We are in the trenches!

Teachers are retiring or leaving the profession at an alarming rate. Private school is a privilege NOT a necessity. Pay your teachers a living wage and see what happen in your public schools! Vote YES for higher teacher pay and NO to vouchers!!

Please vote NO to vouchers.

NO TO VOUCHER

1. Most people agree that Teachers change lives. Their pay should be higher. It is shameful that a new graduate nurse can make an equal pay per year to a teacher of 25 years. 2. Testing is part of life, but not in the way that our students are tested. Life tests you through situational testing. Less school testing would be better .

Give public school teachers the raises they deserve. NO to vouchers!

There was a time when students in Texas were given a standardized test at the beginning of the year and at the end (the IOWA) to measure growth. We all grew up knowing how to read and calculate math problems, social studies, and basic science skills. We became productive members of society who could do more than regurgitate A, B, C, or D. Some of us even became teachers in Texas public schools. And some of us even earned multiple degrees so we could be better teachers for our students. But it was unnecessary because every single school day teachers are told exactly what to teach and exactly what to say (literally given a script). Our students are unruly partially because arts were taken away, a law had to be written to mandate at least 30 minutes of unstructured free-play (we also had multiple recess times through 3rd grade in our idyllic school years), and because district leadership is so terrified parents are going to take their children to a charter school, the teachers are told to do whatever it takes to make the parents happy even if it impinges on another child''s (forget the teacher''s) rights/freedom/happiness. Home is for raising and rearing, but many parents feel it is up to the school system to do that. UNTIL the school system enforces a consequence the parents don''t like. School is for learning, and teachers are there to facilitate that. They chose their career of giving, but EVERY day have to prove their worth. We proved our ability when we passed our certification exams. Let us teach, provide meaningful materials to help us do that, allow us time to actually teach instead of teaching through testing, and let those who want to send their children to private school pay for the privilege. YES to public school funding, NO to vouchers, NO to more testing, NO to the latest gimmick to get students (who are children, NOT commodities) to perform better (and there''s something wrong with that statement as well) on a made-up, non-normed test, and NO to school administrators on power trips.

Teachers need more pay! Vote YES to teacher raises!! Vouchers will kill public schools! Vote NO to vouchers!!

Pay raises disbursed evenly for all teachers. No to vouchers, choice schools should not be draining public education resources.

Teachers need a pay raise and less testing. Increase the school year to 8 weeks in class - 2 weeks off.

Please vote NO to vouchers! Invest in our kids and teachers

Lawmakers public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers! Let me say that again public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO VOUCHERS!

Teachers deserve much better pay for the work they do, especially those who have been bringing their passion and skill set to the classroom for many years. Students deserve lessons that are not designed to simply memorize an answer and submit to the state testing agency for grading, but rather enhance their communication and problem solving skills. They desperately need less testing, and would benefit most not from test preparations, but actual instruction. Community members as a whole need schools where we invest in, not a voucher system that encourages privatization. Vote for higher teacher pay, less state testing, and no vouchers.

Teachers deserve way more than you give them! We can barely support our families! Pay raises should NOT be tied to vouchers!! We need less testing and NO vouchers!

Public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers!

Pay Raises for teachers. We the teachers will be watching whom Supports this if you all would like to be re-elected. Big pay raises to show your support and Texas does care about Teachers.

I will soon be starting my 51st year in education in grades ranging from K-12. Every year for decades I have fought against vouchers and will continue!! The rigorous and ridiculous testing our students are subjected to has helped to cause and extreme and ever-growing teacher shortage. Many of my friends have side hustles when they need to be devoting that time totally to their family and their students. Please vote NO on vouchers and give teachers salaries to battle inflation and forget the testing.

Public schools need higher pay to compete with other careers to keep and bring in better teachers. We are dummying down our students teaching to a test instead of real world situations, critical thinking as well as ability to communicate with others and disagree without being offended. Vouchers in theory sound good but reality is the education system is designed for educating all children equally and this is one more way to bring division.

The idea for vouchers is disgusting. How can they be justified with the very few amount of students they may actually impact. You are taking away so much from our students by tying these vouchers to property taxes and/or maintenence and operations monies of public schools. With higher costs of living throughout the State of Texas - Teachers NEED higher pay, Students need less testing, and NO vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers. Tell me how YOUR vouchers will be held accountable!!! There are zero checks and balances in place for this to be a positive system for the State of Texas. You MUST think of what is best for the WHOLE.

First of all thank you for your service to the Great State of Texas. Now please be of service to it''s educators by approving the pay raises we so greatly deserve. Allow us to change the lives of our students by putting testing back in the hands of the educators who have gone to college and continuing education trains, meetings and such. I am not sure how great your memory is but by continually testing STAAR in the spring--students have a hard time remembering 8 months of curriculum to pass a test. However, the biggest disservice is to tie our pay raises to vouchers. I will come to testify and explain the illogical thinking on this topic. Thank you for your time and understanding. Blessings Mary Crisp

Vote NO for vouchers. Tax dollars do not need to be used to fund private schools because they are not required to meet the same standards as public schools. They are private because they do not want to include all children. The money to be used for vouchers will take away money to be used for public education. Teacher pay raises should be a separate bill!

No to Vouchers! Education is the future for us all. However, every year it becomes more challenging for students and educators. I am writing to express my strong opposition to vouchers that would divert public funds from public schools to private schools. One of the reasons why I oppose vouchers is that they would undermine the quality of education in public schools. Today, children are unable to read an analog clock, read and write cursive, and sadly many can barely write in print due to using laptops and other devices more frequently in the classroom. I understand we live in a technology world, but without these skills, where does that leave our children? They need the basics, just like we all had, before they can advance to higher levels of learning. A carpenter would not build a house starting with the walls! They have to lay the foundation first in order to build a safe and strong home! Another reason why I oppose vouchers is that they would increase the inequality and injustice in education. My school is one of the lowest paying districts in Texas. I am a single mother of four children and barely can supply food on the table (unfortunately there are times I can’t. We survive on Ramen and beans) and much less provide them with all the things they need. I make $200 over to receive any help from the government but am barely making ends meet. Rural districts like mine struggle with 50% of our students already living in poverty. We needed that Bill to pass to help provide our students with tools and personal items to be more successful on a test that seems to set them up to fail. I teach skills in 7th Grade that I did not learn till I was in college! Vouchers would only benefit those who can afford private schools, while leaving behind those who need public education the most. I could easily choose another profession and be able to better provide for my family, but I love to teach and I love my students! I will not give up on something I have so much love and passion for. However, teachers have made tremendous sacrifices for their students, often at the expense of their own families and health. Especially during the pandemic, we have shown our dedication and resilience in adapting to new modes of teaching and learning. It is time to rise and support your educators! We deserve to be better taken care of. We deserve better health plans and an increasing salary!!! We do not only teach academics these days, but we are also therapists, nurses, coordinators, and many other roles in and out of the classroom. Therefore, I urge you to reject vouchers and invest in public education instead. Public education is the foundation of our democracy and our society. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that every child has access to a high-quality and equitable education that prepares them for their future.

No vouchers!

Vote NO to vouchers! Invest in our public teachers!

Teachers are leaving in droves because the pay not enough to survive on! Please help us! Some are working two jobs just to make it. We are professionals with degrees and certifications. My 20 year old son waits tables and makes more than me. I’m worried I might not be able to continue teaching because I can’t afford it!

Yes to pay raise. No to vouchers. Do not tie raises and vouchers together

Public school teachers need higher pay, less testing, and NO to vouchers

Vote no to vouchers and yes to higher pay for teachers! Less testing! Please allow us to use our time focusing on our students and not having to supplement our income with several jobs in order to keep our household afloat.

TESTING! It is too much. The reading sections for middle school could be reduced to really see what students know. They are getting burned out by the sheer amount of reading. If there were fewer passages, students would probably put in more time and not give up. Math tests should have a section of just computation so those who are good in math but struggle with reading could have some success. English Newcomers should not be made to take the tests in English. They should be given a waiver for a couple of years or be allowed to take it in the native language. The system here demoralizes students. Shame

PLEASE vote for teacher pay raises. Our district has not given us a step raise for several years. Testing is getting out of hand. As someone else said, students are no longer reading books in class. They get excerpts from which they annotate and answer multiple choice questions and write constructed responses. What a perfect way to kill the joy of reading, getting lost in a meaningful story. Please do not tie teacher raises to vouchers. It would be a clear indication of just how little esteem public school teachers are held. After what we did for our students during Covid isolation, working hard to catch students up, dealing with the social-emotional issues facing students, their families, the families of staff, teachers, admin . Many of our districts are already struggling to give our staffs and students what we need. We have such a surplus. What a blight on our state if a significant portion isn’t given to public education.

less paperwork that NO ONE looks at, less testing, either more money or better benefits! Why are public educators benefits different and more expensive than other state employees? Give us back our full SS benefits at retirement and quit attempting to benefit the rich with private school vouchers! No one else will benefit from vouchers, the reasons are many!

Absolutely NO to vouchers. As an educator it’s simply demeaning that an increase in pay is not being take more seriously. Our future depends on education! We need resources, we need staff that have degrees or have the industry experience. You don’t get that by offering a pay scale lower than the cost of living. It’s so vital that we make motions to move forward for better learning environments too!

Public school teaches the higher, pay, less testing, and zero vouchers!

Not to vouchers!!! Teachers deserve a pay raise!!! We don’t get 3 months off anymore but still get paid as such. We get a total of 6 weeks. Most every professional job gets that many vacation days a year. We should get paid the hours we work!

No to Vouchers! We need funds going to our public schools to provide our students with curriculum and tools necessary to be successful in life. Yes to pay raises! Our public schools need funds to ensure HQ teacher retention No to high stakes testing? The high stakes testing is detrimental to our students mental health. The Monday after spring break students begin showing heightened states of anxiety and depression due to their concerns about testing. Many have started refusing to come to school because the tests make them feel like they will never do well enough. Highly intelligent children do poorly on tests due to testing anxiety. We are not getting accurate results. We need to do better!

As a retire/rehire, teachers and retirees all need pay/cost-of-living increases, not just a one-time check. Schools need to be relieved of the over-testing that does not help students or staff but only pads the pockets of the testing companies. Allow teachers to be the ones that determine the needs of THEIR students, the one they are involved with EVERY DAY! Approving vouchers just diminishes the value of free, public education. Only the wealthy will benefit from a voucher program. Rural districts will suffer and inner-city schools will suffer. Vouchers will decrease programs, teaching staffs and the depth of education students receive in a public school. By increasing funding to CTE programs, certification programs and general education programs, PUBLIC school students will be prepared to enter the workforce and/or college. DO NOT FUND VOUCHERS --- FUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS!!!!!

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

Teachers deserve higher pay to educate students effectively. We do NOT want vouchers tied to bills for teacher pay!

Without teachers, other occupations would not exist, yet most professional occupations are paid better than teachers. Teachers deserve higher pay over vouchers. NO VOUCHERS!!

No vouchers, higher pay for educators, less testing, affordable health insurance, free/reduced tuition for teachers & teachers’ children at Texas public universities and cancelation of loans to educators.

Teachers need raises!! Vouchers are a scam. Vote no to vouchers. Less testing and less weight pages on the STAAR tests, instead use a portfolio system so a true picture of a student''s progress can be measured.

NO to vouchers, YES to updating our education system by updating unnecessary and punitive testing procedures, and YES to improving our salaries. It''s only fair.

We MUST acknowledge our public school teachers work and compensate them accordingly. They deserve a raise.

Teachers deserve to be paid like other professionals with degrees. No vouchers! Pay teachers what they deserve. We deserve to be able to support our families and not have to work more than one job to do so.

Texas is going to end up being one of the most undereducated states if teachers don’t start making more money. We can’t support our families or are Mental Health with what we get paid now. You keep demanding more with no compensation and you will end up with teachers with little or no experience. We need an Emergency Response to the Exucation crisis that is going on.

How can you say no to student loan forgiveness, but yes to vouchers? Where is the consistency? Teachers need more than half percent or one percent raises in an economy that has seen record inflation over the last three years. Stop the flood of teachers leaving and make our pay commensurate with the amount of effort, time, and emotion that we are putting into an increasingly demanding job.

ABSOLUTELY NO to the vouchers. If a parent chooses to forego public school then they and they alone should shoulder that bill! Teachers desperately need and deserve a substantial pay raise. The fact that the voucher is even being considered is a slap in the face of dedicated teachers that willingly spend a good deal of their pay to stock their classrooms and make sure their students have what they need. YES to substantial pay increases and NO to vouchers!

No Vouchers Higher Pay How can the educators who are building the future of the country have no future? Education is not even considered as a career, that is so sad for this country. Educators are not volunteers, they have a family to feed.

Teachers need higher pay to keep up with todays world, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

All teachers need higher pay. An even bigger factor is the Special Education Department. With student case loads increasing, and less support from admin/parents have been a rising issue, and definitely not enough pay, these teachers decline. We need these types of teachers! No to vouchers!

NO VOUCHERS!!!! Vouchers will not pay all of private school and private schools will not want to accept state money if they have to abide by state mandates. If they will not be required to abide by those mandates, then public and charter schools should not either. Many schools are utilizing MAP testing that show precise student growth, STAAR testing does not. State testing only benefits the testing company and that money could be better used to serve public schools.

Lawmakers public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers! Let me say that again public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO VOUCHERS! Our children need good quality teachers and not giving us the pay we deserve is causing us to have a shortage and highly qualified educated teachers. We need more pay and not vouchers!!

Public school teacher deserve a higher pay in order to support their family and keep doing life changing work!

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

No to vouchers, higher teacher pay please. Texas has always been at the top in education in the United States. Please pay the school districts more money and not let Texas fall behind. Less testing would be very much appreciated!

The fact that it’s even in discussion to do vouchers or a pay raise for teachers is ridiculous. If you’re sending your child to private school you should have the means to do so. I’m a public school teacher sending my daughter to private school, for the fact of smaller classes. I’m choosing this and I’m choosing to pay for it, because I’m an adult and making that choice. Teachers deserve a pay raise. You choose to do vouches are you going to pay everyone back who’s paid for private school? Just like colleges being said they’d be paid back.

We are losing teachers at a rate never seen before. Vote YES for more pay and NO to vouchers. Show a little respect and support for those that have chosen to teach.

Please vote NO to vouchers! Invest in our kids and teachers

Please vote against any form of vouchers. If you think making our public education system better is by removing accountability go ahead and remove it from the current system. Don’t make our State a have and have not state. Show support for current and future teachers by giving them a pay raise and increasing the pay scale by 5 more steps encouraging more teachers to stay in the profession.

No to vouchers, yes to pay raise for teachers, especially the ones who have been dedicated to the classroom for many years. We are losing so many good, dedicated teachers because we are underpaid! Our pay does not even keep up with the cost of living because usually the small pay raise only covers the insurance premium increase.

Lawmakers public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers! Let me say that again public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO VOUCHERS!

Lawmakers public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers! Let me say that again public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO VOUCHERS!

No to vouchers, yes to pay raise for teachers, especially the ones who have been dedicated to the classroom for many years. We are losing so many good, dedicated teachers because we are underpaid! We are the ones to educate the people that make more money than ourselves yet we have so much responsibility attached to our job (student success, discipline, lack of parent support, closing the gap, paperwork, lesson plans). Our pay does not even keep up with the cost of living because usually the small pay raise only covers the insurance premium increase. Invest in our future generation so we will have EDUCATED individuals to take care of our future needs & lead our country!!

Less testing, please. No, ladies and gentlemen, that''s not a politeness, that''s me begging. Please, please, less testing. It hurts everyone, especially the students. They no longer read books, they no longer have the time because the curriculum is so restrictive and focused on test results that mean nothing. I am an English teacher and have been for 10 years now. I''ve taught almost everything above 6th grade, and I promise you, these students are less capable than any generation before them. Yes, there are a lot of elements to it, parents, cell phones, us teachers sometimes, but testing is something you have some say over. Please, please, we all beg you, reduce or remove testing requirements from the students.

Between the high stakes testing and the workload teachers do, it’s a burn out real quick. Teachers need a raise and not add more to the workload, the overkill of state testing has got to go., no to vouchers. Where’s the accountability on how the voucher money will be used????

No vouchers!

No VOUCHERS RESPECT THE PROFESSION Pay Increase

Teachers deserve to be paid like degrees professionals. No vouchers. Pay teachers what they deserve.

Absoulutely no vouchers! Raise teacher pay!

No Voucher''s. Teachers / paraprofessional need raise. Less testing.

Pay increase

Increase pay for all educators! No vouchers!!

NO, NO, and NO to vouchers!!! Pay increase to teachers. They deserve it!!! They invest many hours to prepare their lessons. Testing students should not be the focus of a public education.

The educators are watching what our elected officials do! Absolutely NO to vouchers. Teachers deserve a pay raise and better insurance! Do your job!!!!

We need a pay raise for all public educators, no vouchers, and less testing!

We need teachers to stay in the profession, not drive them away. This is an opportunity to support teachers by raising pay and not allowing vouchers. Teachers can only do so much with what we have to work with. Parents need to step up and be parents and support education.

No to vouchers and higher pay for teachers, paras, and administrators.

Please, no vouchers! That would be a logistical nightmare with the way children bounce around these days!!!!!

Teachers need higher pay to keep up with the rapid inflation taking place currently!! We also need less testing please. NO VOUCHERS is the best for our state also! Thank you.

NO NO NO to vouchers and high stake testing. Highly qualified teachers have stayed true to education even though the pay has been low. We have done it because we love what we do. The added pressures from the Covid gaps, testing requirements, and thinking everyone is “equal” in the classroom… we are burnt out. Teachers will continue to leave education in droves with the vouchers and testing, which means our gaps and deficits will increase because highly qualified teachers are being replaced with non qualified/certified people already. Highly qualified teachers are not sitting in the shadows waiting on a job to open up… jobs are sitting and waiting on “takers” (aka non qualified/certified)… something is backwards. Reward qualified teachers who are in the fight to educate this generation instead of chasing them off with added stresses. I agree with the post above… let parents have the choice of private (they pay for) or free education.

NO to vouchers! Please give Texas teachers, especially experienced teachers with over 25 years of teaching a pay raise!!!

Public schools professionals need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers!

No to vouchers and testing. Yes to higher pay.

No vouchers! Public school teachers need pay raises and more funding per student.

No vouchers! Many of our wonderful and dedicated teachers are leaving our profession of educating our future because of low salary and testing. A teacher’s role is not just 7:30-3:30, it is way beyond. Please compensate our teachers with what they deserve.

No vouchers!! What we need is more raises and less testing.

Invest in our public education system by investing in our teachers! Teachers need a pay increase and they need your support of public education. Vouchers are NOT the answer. Please vote no to vouchers. How many of you are successful individuals due to a public education and great teachers! We need to promote education as the worthiest of professions. Again, without teachers where would we be? So, no to vouchers, yes to public education, and pay raises for educators!!

We must stop holding public education hostage and impeding its success! The majority ofTexans have said “No” to vouchers over and over again. Respect our profession and pay teachers what they deserve.

Vouchers are not necessary, and they will be detrimental to the Texas Public Education System. As it is, public education budgets are laughable. Highly qualified teachers - those who have earned multiple degrees and certifications in their areas - are often paid woefully less than their counterparts in the corporate world. This is often seen as more than acceptable, as the majority of teachers are female (consider the history of women''s rights in that statement) and are, therefore, in it "for the children." That rhetoric gets pushed all too often as a way to overlook the substandard salaries and budgeting. Many schools struggle to maintain their buildings, provide adequate curriculum, etc., because there is simply not enough money to go around. Vouchers will only make this worse, as they will take away more funding from public education.

Say NO to vouchers There is a TEACHER SHORTAGE!! Public education MATTERS!!

Public schools are working with students that are below several grade levels So much is expected of teachers administrators and school counselors . We work 50-70 hours a week. So many colleagues have left the profession too many hours not enough pay . It’s just expected that we work ourselves to the point of exhaustion.. I know that no other profession has more dedicated people until we get burned out and quit …seriously what are our elected politicians doing for education!! Not a damn thing Democrats and republicans need to stop fighting and woke the people they represent! Enough is enough No school vouchers !!! Public education is here to stay !

Higher pay for teachers-no vouchers-no state testing

I’m going into my 16th year of teaching in 3 districts in central tx. Over the last few years, it’s impossible to overstate the devastation done to our communities and schools, partly from Covid, but also exacerbated through a politicization of mass schoolings and a blatant disregard to properly fund public education. The Texas legislature has done nothing to stem the tide that will eventually result in poorer and poorer educators and more conflict and violence within our halls. While my district continues to find ways limit the amount of thermostat use outside educational hours, maybe we could get some complimentary bullet proof vests. Fuck vouchers.

No to vouchers. Teachers need pay that shows law makers value the work they do.

Vouchers harm the public school system. The private schools should stay "private." I agree if you want to educate your child privately then your taxes in your school district should go to that private school. This gives the public school incentive to deal with why parents are moving their children. Renters ... sorry I should not pay for your child''s private education when I can''t afford to send my own to a private school.

No to vouchers. Higher pay & better health care would be nice.

Higher pay for teachers, less testing, and no vouchers

No vouchers! Higher pay for teachers less state testing

Texas Public Schools deserve better!!! Our Teachers need to be appreciated for the work that they do and it is in the form of better pay! Also, our students and teachers need relief from the burden of so much State Testing! Students need to thrive in a 21st Century Curriculum that provides for enrichment, soft skills and the arts which are no where to be tested in a high stakes assessment. Both students and teachers must engage in hands on creative and innovative learning experiences to thrive in this post Pandemic era. Furthermore, vouchers will only take dollars from public schools because Parents that Can afford to pay for private schools already do so!

Public schools need higher pay, less testing & NO vouchers!

NO to vouchers unless you’re trying to ruin public education in Texas! Educator pay HAS to increase, especially in smaller schools! Teachers don’t earn a liveable wage, especially if you don’t teach in the heart of a metropolitan area! Small/rural (although lawmakers definition of rural school seems skewed) school educators should not have to take a vow of poverty!

No, no, NO to vouchers. No to continued high stakes state testing. Please raise our pay! I have been teaching now for 18 years and the only way I have had any increase in pay was to switch to a totally different school district AND teach at two schools (I have roughly 1,300 students by myself and NO extra stipend). This upcoming year I will still have to teach that many kids with NO extra stipend AND I will now have to have a side job to make ends meet. Other teachers and I across this state are DROWNING. If things do not improve in this state more teachers and myself WILL LEAVE.

NO VOUCHERS! If parents want to send their children to another school, allow them to PAY for that PRIVILEGE. Don''t take away from students. There already is not enough funding for students!

Higher pay for teachers, less testing, and no vouchers.

No to vouchers! Educators need higher pay raise as the teachers are the foundation of the education system! Not only that; they play the most important role in shaping their students’ life and career! I am a teacher and I feel demotivated after working for more than 20 years with so much of dedication and passion seeing that I do not get enough pay raise that I deserve when the teachers have to survive under high inflation rates and rising health insurance cost! The teachers not only have to deal with students and their behavior and also their academic performance but they at the same time have to deal with the students’ parents! I really appeal to the concerned authorities to evaluate the teachers hard work and their performance which are above any other profession that ironically is experiencing a not only a higher pay but higher or decent pay raise every year

No to vouchers! PAY RAISES ARE A NECESSITY! Many teachers work two jobs!

Regarding vouchers-Think about measures to protect small Texas schools. Increase student allotments so schools can keep up with our mercurial economy. Put your wallet where your mouth is, make use of that ridiculous task force y’all made to investigate the teaching crisis, and PAY YOUR FRIGGIN TEACHERS.

Please, no vouchers!

NO TO VOUCHERS! By tying educators pay to vouchers it is insulting to Texas educators!!!Higher teacher pay is an absolute necessity

Don’t even think about vouchers. We work hard as educators and the pay does not equal the amount of time we dedicate to your children. Just think, no adult would be where they are without educators. Increase pay to equal our value.

No to Vouchers, As a parent of two, I worked hard to ensure my children were educated through the Texas Public School system! I paid for everything including breakfast and lunch. Students and parents today feel entitled to everything free! America was built on the backbones of all of our ancestors including our grandparents and parents! Charter schools are full of teachers who could not pass the test after multiple tries! They only accept students who are non behavioral and aren’t SPEd, thus filling our public schools with these and not allowing other students to be taught. We need pay raises and more mental health counselors. If vouchers, they should be tied to parental education and guidance.

No vouchers and teachers’ pay raise should be the only topics for discussion. It is nothing wrong with parents wanting to allow their children to go to private schools, but we should not be funding it. You’ll need to hold out and not let Governor Abbott bully you’ll into getting his way. This should be for the students and teachers.

Vouchers will take away from out public education institutions. Our government should be helping not hurting public education. No vouchers for any reason.

Please vote NO to school vouchers! A teacher pay raise would be nice, but I will sacrifice a raise to keep private schools private and public schools public.

No vouchers! Higher pay for teachers less state testing

No vouchers! Teachers deserve a raise…. Period! We shouldn’t have to tie it to vouchers!

No Vouchers!!! I’m a single mom and sole provider for my daughter and I. As a degreed educator we live pay check to pay check. Why? Education is short teachers, why is this? Educators are constantly having more added to their plates, stuffing class numbers, overwhelmed with behaviors in the classroom, and being verbally & physically abused. Why are we not valued? With the cost of living rising we deserve a competitive salary. Do not cut out Middle class forcing our future to live in poverty because they cannot afford a private education.

No to vouchers- teachers need pay increase to reflect all of the overtime and added behavior difficulties due to COVID mess. The amount of personal time and money out of pocket that teachers spend has become out of control (and a “norm” nowadays that should not be). Less testing for ALL. Due to emotional trauma and lack of early elementary pre-requisite/ social/life skills, academic achievement is not as attainable as in the past. The social/ emotional needs have to be strengthened before learning can truly begin.

No vouchers! No vouchers! No vouchers! Public schools should be teaching and serving students not competing with a private school business.

Our profession doesn’t make a salary anywhere close to other professions. Our insurance, along with other daily costs keeps going up. Put the money toward higher salaries, less testing and NO VOUCHERS!!

Pre covid, during covid, post covid it is ever clear how IMPORTANT TEACHERS are to the community and universe. Give them a raise in perpetuity!!!

No to vouchers! We need a pay raise and better health care coverage! Teachers deserve better!!

Teacher are overworked and not enough pay.and don''t forget about the para's, they work very hard and don''t make much money.

Texas Teachers need a raise! Teachers are professionals with a degree and certifications and most need to get a second job just to provide for their families. Pay teachers what they deserve. It should come from the state and not the district! Say YES to raises for teachers and NO to vouchers!

Teachers need a pay raise to compensate for inflation as well as increasing insurance costs monthly. If we get get better affordable health care for ALL teachers regardless of district, that would be beneficial.

If teachers were paid and treated like other professionals there wouldn’t be such a struggle to get and keep GOOD teachers and the vouchers wouldn’t even be a conversation. NO TO VOUCHERS! Make testing appropriate and stop experimenting with different questioning types and MAKE IT GRADE LEVEL APPROPRIATE!!! Differentiation is crammed down the teachers’ throats but ONE test is given for every student.

Public tax funds for private schools? That shouldnt be legal. At least pay Texas teachers in line with their counterparts all over the country. Its also asinine, that every year, teachers are required more of, with less support from the state, yet are not compensated. Providing decent, semi-affordable health care would also be a step in the right direction. There is a reason there is a teachers shortage: it has become a crap profession, where you are dumped on at every turn.

Increase public school teacher pay. No vouchers. Private schools don''t want the vouchers, either. They don''t want state money and have to implement state programs. They don''t want state oversight.

No to vouchers! I have been a public school teacher for 21 years. For me, teaching has never been about the pay. It has been a calling and provided me with great purpose. However, I do feel teaching is losing respect because the pay and benefits do not parallel what is expected from us. I personally pay for school supplies and needed classroom supplies. I have parents that contribute to underfunded classroom needs. You all have it wrong. Vouchers will only add to the chaos and tear our public schools apart. Spend a day in our shoes. Don''t pass legislation about this when you have very little understanding of the needs in the classroom. Support public school, teachers, and students.

NO VOUCHERS! Teachers need pay raises and affordable insurance !!

Vouchers will not benefit the poor. The poor will still need to send their kids to the local public school because of school buses. Why should private schools get taxpayers money when they do not serve all children? Not all private schools serve children with special needs, and they definitely do not keep children with behavior issues like public schools do. Private schools also do not have to give the STAAR like public school. It is ridiculous to tie teacher raises with vouchers. Teachers need a salary increase. For years the public has know that pay is one of many reasons why teachers are leaving the profession, but the politicians do not seem to want to solve these problems. Why do politicians want public education to fail? Why does our government want the poor to not be educated in this country?

Teacher pay and district funding should not be tied to vouchers. Teachers work hard everyday to educate our kids. We deserve to a pay raise. Separate vouchers from teacher pay raises.

No to Vouchers. Address public school issues and support teacher cost of living increases!

Pay teachers like the professionals we are, and the professionals you want us to be. Vote NO to vouchers.

No to vouchers and yes to affordable healthcare

Teachers need higher pay. We as educators have an extremely important jib and have never been compensated for the work they do. Say no to vouchers. These will hurt public education.

We need less testing in public schools. What we need is more safety and a huge raise for public school teachers.

Teachers need higher pay in public schools. Say no to vouchers.

Every time I tell someone I work in public education, they immediately feel badly for me with regards to how much teachers are paid and what they have to deal with. If the state doesn’t give teachers more incentive to go into the profession and actually STAY, there will be no teachers. What are we going to use? AI? Kids don’t listen to humans. You think they’re going to listen to robots?

Please consider teacher when passing his vote. We need more teachers! We are trying to teach our future generations on half the staff that you had! Please support a raise so that we can pull need teachers into the profession.

Texas public school teachers deserve a pay raise and elimination of Windfall act. Texas schools need lesser/different testing- or at least a revision. NO to vouchers! You will cripple small, rural schools!

Teachers are on the front line of education. They need a salary increase!

Pay teachers what other professionals are paid. Provide affordable health insurance options. Vote NO to vouchers.

Public school teachers across Texas deserve to be paid comparable to their counterparts in other professions. It is an embarrassment that there is such a surplus of funds for public school education, and not one cent has been devoted to increase public school teacher salaries. We are losing valuable, experienced public school educators because they can use their college degrees to make 20% more by leaving their teaching career and pursuing other business avenues. Raise public school teacher salaries to make it a valued field of work that people want to pursue. Keep our teachers by respecting them enough to pay them more and to provide better benefits, so they will desire to stay as public school teachers. This money should not go to vouchers.

Pulling money from an already stressed system to provide for vouchers is ludicrous. First provide adequate funding for meaningful teacher raises, lessen testing demands, and support public schools! Do the right thing.

The pay for educators should be raised because educators deserve to be respected and paid like the hardworking professionals they are and have affordable healthcare for families. Public Education dollars should only be used for public education-no vouchers. Parents who want their children to attend private schools have that right but they should paid for it, not public education dollars. There should slso be less testing for our students.

Pay raises for teachers as well as the Aides should come directly from the State and NOT be paid directly to the school districts! This whole voucher thing is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen the State Board of Education push! Public School means “just that…Public”!

No to vouchers!

Teachers need higher wages. We have more and more demands set on us and the students need more and more help. All special needs programs , Special Ed. Dual Language Programs and Bilingual programa as well as GT programa lack funds and better curriculum!! No vouchers!! We need less testing. It’s time to get back to basics! Our students need teachers - not just technology. Teachers are overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid. No wonder there is a shortage!

No to vouchers! Teachers need a raise and districts need all the funds they can get.

Higher pay for teachers, for districts not to have a choice on what to do or when to allow the funds for the teachers. No Vouchers and less testing! Special needs students and emergent bilingual students are stressed from all of the over testing.

No to vouchers! We need a raise.

Pay raise is needed with the cost of living/inflation. Vouchers NO!!

No to vouchers! It’s not real public education. Dipping from the same pot of $$ with different rules is wrong and legislators know it. Teachers are under paid. There is a teacher shortage & it will continue unless salaries increase to put educators as important public employees. No to vouchers, increase teacher pay

Teacher need higher pay. You can not keep them now. The average person doesn’t stay 5 years anymore. Reward those who do stay for the kids!!!!No way should we have vouchers.

Teachers need more pay, do NOT put this on the public schools to pay for it. NO VOUCHER

No to vouchers, they will destroy not only public education but all education. Give public school teachers a raise. Maybe something equivalent to the bottom 25% of flight attendants ($71,159) Source: salary.com

Teachers deserve pay raises not tied to vouchers. They work hard and without them where would our society be exactly? Yes to pay raise to honor our teachers and no to vouchers.

No vouchers! Such a slap in the face. We work hard and want the best for all children. Please support us!

No to vouchers

No to vouchers!

No to any vouchers!!! Teachers need a pay raise!

Let''s be honest does this even help?

No to vouchers!!! Stop destroying public schools and pay teachers.

No Vouchers. Provide higher pay for teachers. Insurance should be more affordable. It is a parents choice to send their children to private school, but, don''t want my hard earned tax money going there. I do not have children in school now and want to keep my money in the public school. As Terry Stone stated in the previous comment "it helps the rich only". I spend at least 500 dollars of my own paycheck throughout the year. Please vote no on vouchers and allocate the money where it is really needed.

Teacher pay raises & No viuchers

Pay public school teachers more. No to vouchers. You want to fix the problem? Address it properly. You expect more from us then pay us accordingly!

Vouchers are no good. More testing is not beneficial. Pay raises will help keep good teachers.

Teachers need higher pay and less testing. Vouchers is a solid no. I will not vote for legislatures who support this. I am a republican that will switch to democrat over this issue.

No to vouchers

No to vouchers! It will not help our children living in poverty.

Absolutely no vouchers.

As of now we feel undervalued, overworked, and under compensated. I keep reading about give kids with all circumstances a chance. What about us public school teachers and our circumstances? I’m a single parent, always having to do side work or have a 2nd job to make ends meet. What about my circumstances and those of other teachers? Our teacher healthcare needs to be improved. It’s not quality, affordable healthcare. It’s expensive. We deserve quality insurance, but can’t afford it. Please take care of us like we take care of your kids. If public schools and teachers got more funding, our schools would be a better fit and accommodate ALL students. NO VOUCHERS! TEACHERS NEED A RAISE TO MAKE IT!

No to vouchers! Invest in public education! Our future depends on it!

I want higher pay, No Vouchers and less testing! My special needs students are stressed from all of the over testing. They are to appoint come all the testing that they no longer try. They suffer from some persons trying to justify their jobs by coming up with new test every year. We can also raise teacher salaries by thinning out the administrators level in Austin.

Say NO to vouchers! Public schools have provided the education that has helped to prosper this country since their inception. Vouchers will kill the public school system. Please say NO to vouchers and properly find PUBLIC EDUCATION, and provide teachers with the pay raises they deserve. Thank you!

NO TO VOUCHERS! By tying educators pay to vouchers it is insulting to Texas educators!!!Higher teacher pay is an absolute necessity.

NO to vouchers! Stop treating your teachers like crap! Teachers deserve a pay raise! And for the love of our children STOP TESTING them with your RIDICULOUS tests!

No to vouchers. They don’t benefit the whole and cause more division to education. Private schools are great but let the private citizens pay fir it themselves. Yes to teacher higher pay. Teaching is the only profession that touches all other professions. It starts with the classroom. Give to teachers to help keep teachers Standard testing should be removed. Teaching to. Test is not really teaching. If the students learn the material in the classroom let the teachers grade them. Stop taking the teachers out of the class and let them just go back to actually theaching.

Teacher incentives: higher pay, paid twice monthly instead of once, free/reduced tuition for teachers & teachers’ children at Texas public universities. It is difficult to save for our kid’s education with our small paychecks.

No vouchers

I urge you all to go to the link and comment. It doesn''t have to be fancy! You have the opportunity for 6 comments!

Make sure you are commenting on the House site… not here. This is a blog which is also GREAT! But if you want those in Austin to see what you are saying, submit here: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c232

The only thing vouchers will do is destroy small rural schools—and more—by allowing the state to cut funding even more. It will help no one except the wealthy. It’s amazing when people know the truth about these legislative shenanigans, they don’t support vouchers. Stop this shameless attack on public education.

No to vouchers

NO to vouchers! Destructive to rural schools that have a hard enough time as it is making ends meet! Prove you are FOR ALL students by not short changing schools most in need of your support! NO VOUCHERS!!!!

I am requesting that you honor and respect the PUBLIC education system by doing away with voucher plans so that funding can be raised to improve our public schools, increase pay and quality of teaching staff, test for improvement documentation of students without penalizing the reputation of school communities by these results, and raise funding of our public schools so districts can provide students with a chance to succeed and feel respected in a quality learning environment. Access to quality public schools is what makes America different. Please respect ALL people by making this a priority. Our future depends on diversity and respect. Children are our future, so please treat their education with care and thoughtful planning. Public tax dollars should not be given to the private sector of schools!

One way to help teachers would be to provide an affordable health care for us.

No to vouchers. I sent my children to a private Christian school. That was my choice and I PAID for 13 years for each of my 2 children. This helps the rich only, of which I''m not one and struggled particularily the last 3 or 4 years. I agree parents should have a choice, but they pay for it themselves. After serving 4 years in the U.S. Air Force, 32 years at the U.S. Postal Service, I''m now a public school teacher. You will harm the free public school system with this action. They are already sucking wind trying to stay up with the students needs. I spend mire money each year on my students than I can claim on taxes