ICYMI: Hinojosa Highlights Texas Public School Crisis Under Greg Abbott’s Leadership
Hinojosa: “A lot of our school districts are not making it.”
Austin, TX – As Texas public schools face their second-largest enrollment drop in history, Democratic candidate for Governor Gina Hinojosa is calling out Greg Abbott’s failure to address the crisis in public education.
“A lot of our school districts are not making it,” Hinojosa said. “There are 10 schools shutting down in Austin. We will not be the same community after that happens. It is very hurtful, but it is happening. In Fort Worth, where there are 18 schools proposed for closure. It is happening in El Paso. It is happening in Corpus Christi. It is happening all over this state, and it is blowing up school communities.”
Hinojosa connected the state’s school enrollment crisis to the long-running funding cuts caused by Greg Abbott’s failed leadership, which has resulted in public schools losing 75,000 students this year alone, fueling a budget crisis that districts can’t absorb.
Meanwhile, Abbott is continuing to promote his voucher scam that drains taxpayer dollars from neighborhood public schools into unaccountable private operators. As governor, Hinojosa is committed to ending the corruption in Texas’s education system and funding public schools to support working families statewide.
Watch and read more below.
Fox 4 Good Day: Texas Public School Enrollment Drops Below 5.5M
CBS News Texas: Dramatic Drop in School Enrollment
- State Rep. Gina Hinojosa called the issue a statewide problem tied to deficit budgets and financial strain on districts.
- “We have many school districts that are running deficit budgets … it is a statewide problem,” Hinojosa said during the hearing.
CBS News: Texas public schools facing decline of 75,000 students this year, TEA says
- Gina Hinojosa, a democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives who’s also running for governor, said in the hearing that this is a crisis for public education.
- “A lot of our school districts are not making it,” Hinojosa said at the hearing. “We have 10 schools shutting down in Austin. We will not be the same community after that happens. It is very hurtful, but it is happening. In Fort Worth, where there are 18 schools proposed for closure. It is happening in El Paso. It is happening in Corpus Christi. It is happening all over this state, and it is blowing up school communities.”
FOX 7: Texas school enrollment sees second-largest historic drop, falls below 5.5 million
- The growing number of empty desks has caused a budget crunch for local school districts. It’s a statewide crisis, according to Austin democrat Gina Hinojosa.
- Hinojosa, who is the Democratic nominee for governor, is attaching the enrollment crisis to the long-running funding debate at the capitol.
- “So, we need to have data on why schools are closing. We can make assumptions. We know there is a decline in birth rates, but that’s not the only thing happening here, and we need to look into what is,” said Hinojosa.
###