Public education has been a major focus of the governor’s race this week, with both Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Democratic nominee Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D–Austin) talking about teachers, teacher pay, and how education dollars are spent. 

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) 

As of Friday morning, Abbott had held four education-focused press conferences this week.  

On Monday, Abbott unveiled a plan aimed at improving Texas students’ reading and math performance. The initiative emphasizes early intervention and more robust communication between parents and teachers to improve academic outcomes and make Texas a national leader in reading and math. It is important to note that Texas schools are already doing much of what was proposed. 

On Tuesday, Abbott announced that he wants the Legislature to prohibit Texas public schools from hiring employees through the federal H-1B visa program. Abbott said his goal is to have “exactly zero” H-1B visa holders working in Texas public schools. The proposal would require legislative action and could impact districts and charter schools that rely on the program to fill difficult to staff positions. 

On Wednesday, Abbott called for audits of independent school districts, including Austin ISD and El Paso ISD specifically, citing concerns about administrative spending and declining enrollment. He specifically called on the Legislature to pass a bill requiring school districts to direct at least 70% of their funding to the classroom. The timing of Wednesday’s announcement was notable because the state released an audit the same day finding that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) was not complying with state requirements concerning its management-to-employee ratio. Abbott did not call for changes at TEA in his remarks. He has called for state agencies to reduce their base spending requests by 3% but excluded education from that call, meaning TEA—as of now—has not been asked to reduce its budget. 

On Thursday, the governor visited Tarrant County, which he called a model for Texas when it comes to lowering property taxes, and renewed his Texas Taxpayer Empowerment Pledge, which includes eliminating school district property taxes for homeowners. Abbott has not stated how he intends to replace the over $80 billion in school funding that would be lost through such a proposal. The pledge would also require two-thirds voter approval for tax increases, including school bonds and Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections (VATREs).  

Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) 

Hinojosa has also kept public education front and center this week. 

In an interview with KSAT, Hinojosa discussed her plans for public education, including her criticism of TEA’s spending on vendor contracts. She said that, as governor, she would take a fresh look at those contracts and redirect money toward priorities such as teacher pay, smaller class sizes, special education, and school safety. 

Hinojosa also took aim at Abbott’s record on teachers on social media, writing on X Tuesday: “No governor in Texas history has driven more teachers away from the classroom than Greg Abbott. That’s a fact.” On Wednesday, she responded to Abbott’s press conference concerning audits of public school districts with a tweet that said: “@GregAbbott_TX supersized bureaucracy at the Texas Education Agency in Austin, robbing classrooms of the money they need. Abbott is the problem. The solution is to vote for a new governor in November.” The tweet also included a chart showing growth at TEA, which Hinojosa has long criticized. 

On Saturday, Hinojosa will participate in a Save Texas Schools event in Kyle. This event is part of her campaign’s effort to organize around public education and its concerns around funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and the future of neighborhood public schools.  

Following two weeks of almost daily communication from the gubernatorial candidates on public education issues, it is clear that public education is emerging as one of the critical issues in the governor’s race.