By Mindy Sutton
Public education has long been a pillar of our Texas communities. Our public schools are places for students to learn, connect with their peers, and prepare for the future. A safe, clean and sustainable learning environment for generations to come is within our reach – but only if our community continues to advocate for our schools.
I know this reality is within reach, but as a former public school teacher, I am deeply concerned about the future of our youth and our schools.
The plain truth is public education is under attack in Texas.
El Paso students deserve a stable learning environment where all students can prosper and thrive. They deserve classrooms that protect their health and learning every day through clean air and safe temperatures. Well-funded, well-maintained public schools across our community are the strongest tool we have to make sure the next generation is set up for success.
Yet, our leaders have turned their backs on public education. State-level attacks on school funding, are leading to school closures and preventing our students from learning in a healthy environment. Many state leaders do not want our public school system to be great, but rather want to hand over our schools to private entities and restrict access for our most marginalized students.
Last legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott’s refusal to fully fund public schools left many school districts, including El Paso ISD, with multimillion-dollar deficits despite the state having a record $32 billion state budget surplus. And the implementation of the state’s school voucher program will continue to drain valuable resources from the communities that need it the most.
Despite the state-level attacks on public education, our communities can still create the schools we want for students. We need a bold, hopeful vision for El Paso and for our students. That’s why, as a newly elected school board member, I am committed to investing in keeping our public schools strong and healthy.
We can do that by freeing teachers from burdensome paperwork and paying them well enough to retain good talent, something EPISD made a step toward in this year’s budget. Bringing all EPISD buildings into the 21st century with cost-saving, efficient HVAC so all classrooms have cool and fresh air, and students can focus on learning is key to achieving our vision of healthy schools.
Together, we can make sure all our students have a neighborhood school they love going to, where they can focus on being kids and preparing for the future.
It takes a village to keep our public schools strong. Increasingly isolated family units, coupled with constant attacks from state and local leaders, mean we have to fight even harder as a community to support our youth and public schools.
We need our neighbors and students to get involved and become advocates for our schools to keep public schools open, accessible, and sustainable.
Having sustained and sufficient funding for our schools is the best tool we have to fight low performance, poor test scores, and attendance issues that challenge our schools. Just because some of our state leaders don’t want to take pride in our public education system doesn’t mean we can’t provide our students with the learning environment they deserve.
Students shouldn’t have to deal with their local school being closed or have to sit in sweltering classrooms or squeeze into overcrowded classrooms. Our students deserve a strong education and a bright future. As a proudly elected school board member, I am excited to do everything I can to support our schools and, alongside my community, make this vision a reality.
Mindy Sutton is the District 4 trustee at the El Paso Independent School District and a former public school teacher.
The post Opinion: Public education is under attack. We need to stand up for safe and healthy schools appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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