AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House approved a new $302 billion spending plan for the next two years that includes pay raises for state employees, tax cuts and additional mental health services.
Many are focused on the pay raises, especially teachers, who feel the Texas House isn't being fair to educators.
$5 billion of that budget would go towards education, but Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) President Ovidia Molina says, the problems facing teachers will only get worse.
"They can do better, and what they are showing us right now, is we are not a priority," Molina says.
Molina says, educators are not getting a lot for their students.
"We're not getting a lot for our communities, so it is very frustrating to know that this is possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity for the state of Texas to do what is right for our students," Molina said.
Molina is in her third year as president of the TSTA.
The approval of this budget has Molina and other educators questioning the priorities of Texas lawmakers.
The TSTA wants a minimum increase of $10,000 per teacher.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, the House Democratic Caucus chair, pushed for another $4 billion to raise it from about $3,800 per teacher to $10,000. The effort went down on a 79-66 party-line vote.
“Thanks for not caring about teachers,” Martinez Fischer said while on the House floor.
Republicans said repeatedly during the debate that their vote against the amendment was not a vote against teachers.
“When we talk about taking money for property tax reduction to put into teachers’ salary, I’ll remind you that teachers pay property taxes as well, and they’re looking for some relief,” said Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston.
"In Texas we love to be number 1 for everything, but we are not number 1 to how we pay our educators. We are not number 1 for per student allotment, we are not number 1 for truly supporting our public schools," Molina said.
In 2021, the average public school teacher salary in the United States was just over 65,000.
In Texas, the salary was over $57,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Molina says without higher salaries, teacher shortages will get worse.
"Larger class sizes, we are talking about programs that are beneficial to our students, that will enrich their lives, that will make them successful adults in our communities going away. We are going to see schools shutting down," she said.
The budget bill passed on a 136 to 10 vote, some who voted against it cited not enough money for public schools and teachers.