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House proposes $7.5 billion in new school funding
Critics say a House bill proposing $7.5 billion in new funding for public education doesn’t go far enough, The Dallas Morning News reported. House Bill 2 would raise the per-student allotment by $220, to $6,360 a year. It would also invest $750 million in teacher pay and $450 million in teacher training.
The bill by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would increase the amount of allotment used to raise salaries for non-administrative staff from the current 30% to 40%. Some testifying against the bill said the proposed raises for teachers is inadequate.
“The pay teachers receive demonstrates the level of respect afforded to our children,” said Megan Holden, a 10th-grade English teacher at an Austinarea high school. “They are getting the message that Texas doesn’t value them or their future.”
The basic allotment would need to increase by $1,300 to keep up with inflation since 2019, according to The News. That’s the last time the allotment was increased.
The Texas Senate has already passed its version of a public education bill: a measure that would give $10,000 raises to teachers with at least five years working in districts with fewer than 5,000 students, with teachers in larger districts getting $5,500 raises.
The average teacher in Texas made $62,500 last year, according to the Texas Education Agency, up from $54,000 in 2019. According to the federal Consumer Price Index, cumulative inflation over that period is about 20%, meaning teacher salaries have not quite kept up with inflation.
STATE WORKERS MUST RETURN IN PERSON TO OFFICES
Gov. Greg Abbott has directed heads of state agencies to phase out remote work “as soon as practicable,” the Texas Standard reported. That follows a similar mandate for federal workers issued by President Trump last week.
“Texans expect their public servants to be present and engaged in the work on their behalf,” Andrew Mahaleris, the governor’s press secretary, said in a statement. “With remote federal workers returning to the office where possible, it’s important that state agencies ensure they do the same.”
No written policy has been given to department heads, but they were directed to transition to in-person work “as soon as practicable.”
RISK OF WILDFIRES INCREASING; FEDS PROVIDE FUNDING
Wildfire season is underway in the state with burn bans in place in 111 counties, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The Welder Complex fire in Sinton was the only active fire as of Sunday. It had burned 803 acres and was 95% contained.
Abbott’s office announced last week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the state’s request for federal assistance for the Welder Fire in San Patricio County and the Duke Fire in Bexar County. The approval from FEMA makes the state eligible to be reimbursed for 75% of the costs associated with fighting the two fires.
On a single day last week, state emergency responders battled 41 new wildfires that burned more than 4,400 acres.
TEXAS SENATE OKS PLAN FOR $3 BILLION DEMENTIA RESEARCH
Creation of a multibillion- dollar dementia research center is a step closer to fruition after the Texas Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston. The Austin American-Statesman reported the bill would create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. If the measure is ultimately passed and signed into law, it still must be approved by voters as a constitutional amendment.
“Dementia is a disease of particular concern because it robs a person of their thoughts and memories — the very essence of that person,” Huffman said. “It leads to a loss of quality of life and independent function that places an immense burden on families and loved ones, and our overall health care system.”
The institute would be modeled after the state’s cancer prevention institute. It would distribute grants to universities and other research organizations to fund studies on dementia prevention and treatment.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR NUCLEAR DISPOSAL CASE
The Supreme Court this week will hear longstanding arguments in a case that could result in Texas hosting the nation’s first independent disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel, Inside Climate News reported. The state government and a Texas oil company sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2021 over its licensing of a temporary storage site in Andrews County for up to 11 million pounds of spent uranium fuel. The waste would have been stored at a facility owned by Waste Control Specialists, which already accepts low-level nuclear waste.
Thousands of tons of high-level radioactive waste are now stored at nuclear power plants across the country. For decades federal authorities have tried to develop a national, permanent site in the face of considerable opposition.
In August 2023, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals canceled a site license to Waste Control Specialists, writing that U.S. law dictates construction of a permanent repository, not a temporary one as proposed by the NRC.
“It plainly contemplates that, until there’s a permanent repository, spent nuclear fuel is to be stored onsite at-the-reactor or in a federal facility,” Judge James Ho wrote. “The Atomic Energy Act doesn’t authorize the Commission to license a private, away-fromreactor storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.”
MEASLES CASES IN SOUTH PLAINS NEAR 200
The number of measles cases reported in the South Plains region of the state reached 198 as of last Friday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Twenty-three people have been hospitalized and one unvaccinated school-aged child has died.
More than two-thirds of the cases have been in Gaines County, southwest of Lubbock. An unvaccinated New Mexico adult in Lea County, just over the border from Gaines County, died last week.
Measles is highly contagious, and DSHS has said additional cases are likely to occur “in the outbreak area and the surrounding areas.”
SPRING BREAK DRUNK DRIVING PREVENTION CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY
Many college students are celebrating spring break this week, and the Texas Department of Transportation has launched a campaign to prevent drunk driving accidents as part of its “Drive Sober. No Regrets” initiative.
During the 2023 spring break period, TxDOT said there were 375 alcohol-related crashes resulting in nine deaths in Texas involving drivers between the ages of 17 and 30.
Students can save lives by designating a sober driver, using ride shares, taxis and mass transit, or simply staying put after drinking.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.
