In a rural Texas school district where Trump won big, leaders warn of dire consequences for resources for students if a voucher plan is passed
As Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick push like never before for a school voucher program, at least one rural school district in a GOP part of the state is sounding the alarm about just how dire the consequences could be for similar districts. By 2024, the Fort Davis Independent School District in West Texas is set to go broke without a boost in state financing, according to a report commissioned by the district. Diverting state funds for a voucher program would only make the situation worse, school leaders argue.
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As Gov. Greg Abbott
and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick push like never before for a school voucher program, at least one rural school district in a GOP part of the state is sounding the alarm about just how dire the consequences could be for similar districts.
By 2024, the Fort Davis Independent School District in West Texas is set to go broke without a boost in state financing, according to a report commissioned by the district. Diverting state funds for a voucher program would only make the situation worse, school leaders argue.
The district serves about 180 students in the county seat of Jeff Davis County. It is one of only two school districts in the county.
Earlier this year, School Board Vice President Pene Ferguson wrote to Rep. Eddie Morales , D-Eagle Pass, who represents the area, to express his concerns. Morales said he was sympathetic but noted that major decisions on school finance in the last two decades have been made under Republican leadership in Austin.
Morales added that he is working to arrange a meeting with district leaders, the Texas Education Agency , and Gov. Greg Abbott , who continues his voucher road show in Bryan tonight.
While Abbott pushes for vouchers, Vice President Ferguson noted the voters in their part of the state are, in fact, overwhelmingly Republican but agree with school leaders about the value of public schools and feel left behind.
“Those of us in true rural areas know that voucher systems will do nothing to help our students. We communicate that message to our voters (largely Republican) every chance we get, and they understand it,” Ferguson wrote. Days before he went to the Texas Capitol last month to visit with lawmakers, Superintendent Graydon Hicks the rural district where he works and others like it can’t afford another “Band-Aid” from the legislature, much less a voucher program, according to a report, which you can read here , commissioned by the school district.
He called House Bill 3 , the historic school finance reform bill passed in 2019, a big Band-Aid but a Band-Aid nonetheless. The reforms to funding formulas were passed in 2019 with an increase to the basic allotment from $5,140 to $6,160 per student but that number is not adjusted for inflation, which has reached 40-year highs.
For at-risk districts such as Fort Davis, even with an increase, “the effects of HB3 delayed what many saw coming. School districts that were feeling the sense of financial dread got about a 2-year reprieve. Those two years are up, and the crisis is upon us once again, only this time there may not be any relief before it is too late,” according to the report.
While a small community, the district is designated as property rich, making it subject to high recapture. The report takes into consideration a combination in the reduction and adjustments in the average daily attendance, county appraisal values, and certified comptroller values.
School districts shutter or consolidate due to poor fiscal management, poor academic performance, or declining enrollment. And Texas has seen a rise in school districts consolidating or closing in recent years. Last year Etoile ISD in Nacogdoches County was annexed by neighboring Woden ISD for financial reasons. Tioga ISD in North Texas began laying off staff last year due to fiscal insolvency. (Tioga ISD has received a failing grade for fiscal management from the Texas Education Agency since 2020.)
In a case somewhat like Fort Davis ISD, Higgins ISD merged with Canadian ISD in The Panhandle due to declining enrollment and pending fiscal insolvency. Meantime, one of the smaller districts in Southeast Texas, the Crosby ISD , has moved to four-day school weeks because of staffing issues.
For Superintendent Hicks, consolidation may be difficult if not impossible. The nearest districts are Marfa (20 miles away), Alpine (25 miles) and Valentine (40 miles). And there is no guarantee they would agree to consolidation. On the current trajectory, consolidation is an issue that the superintendent and the school board have only a few more years to consider, Hicks said.