AUSTIN, Texas — The 89th Texas Legislature will begin this week, as lawmakers are set to return to the Texas Capitol to try and implement the agenda of Gov. Abbott and other state leaders.
School choice is a top priority for many lawmakers in the new session, including Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. It is a measure that would allow families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for their children’s private schooling.
Jeremi Suri is a UT Austin professor who worries voucher legislation will take money out of Austin ISD.
“The Austin school district is already hemorrhaging money because of the formula the state uses,” Suri said. “More than half of the property taxes that you and I and all property holders in Austin pay, more than half leaves the city and goes to other parts of the state. [It] makes the system even more unsustainable for students and families that are sending their children to go to this system.”
Newly sworn-in Austin City Council member Marc Duchen is focused on pushing back on attempts by the legislature to strip away local control from cities like Austin.
“[It is] a priority for me, because that covers a lot of issues that we care about, whether they’re environmental, housing, serving homelessness, etc.,” Duchen said.
KVUE reached out to Mayor Kirk Watson for an interview on his legislative priorities but was unavailable at the time of publication. His office provided the following statement:
“Mayor Watson will continue to advocate and protect Austin’s light rail, which was approved by voters in 2020. Austin has done a lot when it comes to addressing housing affordability in the last two years, and Mayor Watson sees an opportunity to work with state leaders on this issue–especially since the Legislature has indicated that they want to do more on housing affordability. There’s also opportunities to work with the State on issues like homelessness and mental health.”
“We can argue over whether it should be light rail or something else, but we need public transportation. And the state at the very least needs to allow us to make those decisions,” Suri said. “Sometimes, it kind of feels like the legislature is a foreign place in our city and I think there’s blame on both sides.”
Local leaders hope a dialogue will ensue between the state and city to bring forward a true representation of what Austin is all about.
“I think there’s a tremendous amount at stake,” Duchen said.
The 89th Texas Legislature begins Jan. 14.