New Texas lawmakers promise public education reforms, but change may be slow, longtime educator says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Newly-elected Texas lawmakers are promising big changes to public education in Texas, but a longtime educator says real change will take time.

Jackie Anderson, a longtime public school educator and now president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said she cannot remember another Texas election where public education played such a major role.

"It made people go, wow, maybe we need to look at it, and they started to realize how important public education is to the backbone of everything," Anderson said.

Erin Baumgartner, an education researcher at Rice University's Kinder Institute, said she is watching two issues closely: school funding and accountability ratings.

On funding, Baumgartner said districts have struggled to get what they need in recent years.

"We've had challenges in getting the adequate funding we need for students across the state in recent years, so there are different opportunities to have conversations around what that looks like," Baumgartner said.

Statewide, voters turned down school bonds and propositions that help fund schools and can affect property tax rates, according to education experts. With a shift in power from Republican to Democrat, districts may seek additional funding from the state.

"The stuff that the state is funding when it comes to the per-pupil allotment is the everyday stuff that school districts need to do. So it's paying teachers, it's materials, it's keeping the lights on in the buildings you have," Baumgartner said.

The second issue Baumgartner is watching is accountability ratings, one of the metrics the state uses to take over school districts.

"What are the metrics we're using to hold campuses and districts accountable for how students are doing, what changes are coming along with what counts and what doesn't," Baumgartner said.

For those hoping for a public education-first approach, Baumgartner said the waiting game has begun. Creating and changing policy takes time, and finding new people to run departments will require vetting.