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• By Mikel Quesada, High School Senior • IDRA Newsletter • September 2024 •

All across Texas, students and teachers have heard in horror as news about budget cuts are happening in schools across the state due to our state leaders (Dial, 2024) and COVID-19 money ending (Craven, 2024).

Schools are given a certain amount of money from the state through their school districts. It’s up to the administrators to manage the money to fund the school’s operations.

When a budget cut happens or there is underfunding, schools have less money to spend. The consequences can be anything from never-replaced old school equipment to outdated textbooks. The problem happens in part because of the unjust amount of funding provided to public schools, and it could be made worse if tax dollars are diverted away from public education for misguided reasons.

When there is a sharp drop in the budget or lack of funds to all schools, speak at board meetings, make them listen to your opinion.

Budget cuts and underfunding also happen because of unfair funding formulas and systems, which allow more money to go to richer schools in richer communities rather than the weaker and poorer schools that are in dire need of more money. Underfunding and budget cuts hurt schools and districts serving poor students more. These schools often need more resources to support their diverse students but are not provided sufficient resources from state and local sources. So, when there are cuts, these schools and districts feel the impacts more than wealthier ones.

Texans can keep budget cuts and underfunding from happening by paying close attention to the state budget and changes in the district fund distribution and the division of funds to all schools. When there is a sharp drop in the budget or lack of funds for all schools, speak at board meetings, make them listen to your opinion, and protest at open community meetings. You can also speak out by simply observing schools in your district: do facilities seem rundown? Are the books and other curriculum resources being used outdated? Speak about the problem at school boards and the state legislature, too, to rally others against this injustice.

Resources

Dial, S. (January 26, 2024). Texas school districts making cuts after state fails to pass funding increase. KDFW.

Craven, M. (September 2024). What You Need to Know About the ESSER Funding Cliff – How Schools Will Be Impacted by the End of Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding. IDRA.

Mikel Quesada is a high school junior in Houston and a member of IDRA’s Youth Advisory Board.

[© 2024, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the September edition of the IDRA Newsletter. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]