AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas School Alliance released the following statement regarding Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposed voucher scheme:

“You can’t fully fund public schools and address the worst teacher shortage in Texas history by siphoning off public dollars to private schools. The math doesn’t work.

This voucher scheme provides a tuition break for the wealthiest Texans who already send their children to private schools, while blowing a hole in public school budgets, harming more than five million Texas students. It is the last thing we should do following a disruptive pandemic.”

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The Texas School Alliance (TSA) is a school district member organization that comprises 44 school districts in Texas and educates more than 2.2 million students or 42 percent of the state’s total enrollment. As a superintendent-led organization, TSA utilizes a thorough process to research and consider significant policy issues – ranging from school finance to teaching and learning to assessment and accountability. TSA also studies specific topics and works on issues that will improve educational quality for Texas students, particularly those in large and urban districts. Our members cover the breadth of Texas’ geographic expanse, with members from the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Panhandle, from near the eastern border to far west Texas. The membership includes urban, mid-urban, and city- town districts and includes school districts that are both property wealthy and property poor. More information is available at TexasSchoolAlliance.org.