TX Public Education: Testimony on Budget Provisions

Mary Lynn Pruneda, TX 2036 Senior Policy Advisor

Texas 2036 Senior Policy Advisor Mary Lynn Pruneda appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Monday to offer oral testimony on budget provisions related to public education.

On the need to raise teacher salaries in public education, she said:

“The single best way and most equitable way to raise salaries for all Texas teachers is through the basic allotment. The basic allotment, being funneled through various weights and adjustments, ensures that teachers and higher needs campuses can receive higher pay because their district is getting more funding.”

On spending more on golden pennies versus the basic allotment, she said:

“While we are putting $2.4 billion into the golden penny yield, we could use that money to raise the basic allotment $200 instead. So while I certainly respect and appreciate the history of the golden penny and how we got here today, I would like everyone just to remember that we could have used that money for teacher pay. We could have used that money to go toward bilingual education or compensatory education programs as well.”

On the need to improve the quality of curriculum, she said:

“If a child is not receiving grade-level instruction, how are they going to do on a grade-level test like the STAAR?”

Her testimony begins at about the 4:31:00 mark.