ICYMI: Hinojosa Rallies Hundreds of Texans at Town Hall, Hosts Bipartisan Roundtables to Launch Team Texas Public Schools Statewide

KXAN: “Hinojosa said the initiative is intentionally nonpartisan, focused on strengthening community voices at a time she describes as a critical moment for public education in Texas.”

Dallas, TX – This week, Gina Hinojosa, Democratic nominee for Texas Governor, rolled out Team Texas Public Schools, a new bipartisan organizing program designed to coach and engage parents, teachers, and administrators to fight school closures across the state.

Throughout the week, Hinojosa held roundtables with parents, teachers, and administrators – Democrats and Republicans alike – to discuss the issues facing their public school districts, from funding to local control and teacher retention. The campaign also hosted Team Texas Public School events in El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio. 

On Tuesday, Hinojosa drew hundreds to a packed town hall in Fort Worth, where she told community members, “My education agenda is not a Democratic agenda. It is not a Republican agenda. It is an agenda that the people of Texas support because the people of Texas love our public schools.”

See more below.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Gina Hinojosa shares vision for Texas public schools at Fort Worth town hall

  • Hinojosa vehemently opposed the Texas Education Agency’s current takeover of the Fort Worth school district as well as the state’s takeover of several other districts across the state.
  • “Let me be clear,” Hinojosa said to the hundreds in attendance. “Yes, our schools need the improvement. But it can never, ever be the answer that we take our public schools away from parents and the community. And that is why when I am governor, on day one I will fire [TEA Commissioner] Mike Morath and end school takeovers.”
  • “There is nothing more important that we can do for a child’s education than to put good teachers in their classrooms,” Hinojosa said. “My education agenda is not a Democratic agenda. It is not a Republican agenda. It is an agenda that the people of Texas support because the people of Texas love our public schools.”
  • “The state-appointed board does not have your best interests at heart,” Hinojosa said. “They are serving the governor and the governor’s interests, so all you can do is resist. They are going to keep taking over our districts if we are not as loud and as forceful and as honest as we can be.”

Dallas Morning News: Hinojosa holds Grapevine roundtable amid school closures, budget struggles

  • Hinojosa, who is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November’s elections, pointed to insufficient state funding for public schools as a large driver of school closure. 
  • She also called the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability system “rigged.” Each district and school receives a grade from A-F, largely fueled by scores from the statewide standardized test, STAAR. If a school receives consistent failing grades, the state can take over the district, installing its own leadership. Fort Worth and Lake Worth ISDs have both come under state control, and Austin ISD is currently at risk of a takeover.
  • Hinojosa also blasted the school voucher-like Texas Education Freedom Accounts program as further siphoning money from public schools. 

KXAN: Nonpartisan organization launches amid growing concern over Texas public schools

  • Hinojosa said the initiative is intentionally nonpartisan, focused on strengthening community voices at a time she describes as a critical moment for public education in Texas.
  • “Texas public schools are in crisis,” Hinojosa said.

KVUE: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa launches ‘Team Texas Public Schools’

  • Hinojosa says under Gov. Greg Abbott’s leadership, many public schools have closed because of budget issues, and teachers are leaving the profession.
  • “We fight for our Texas public schools because they are important to our kids, they are important to our communities, they are important to our state. We fight for Texas public schools because they are essential to the American Dream.”

Austin American-Statesman: Governor candidate Hinojosa vows to end state takeovers of school districts

  • Changing the way Texas grades schools and stopping state takeovers of local districts are among the top education priorities for Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat running for governor.
  • “We fight for our public schools because they are essential to the American dream,” Hinojosa said during a press conference Monday at the former Pease Elementary School in downtown Austin. The school closed in 2020.
  • Hinojosa announced her education platform in her first campaign stop this week on a statewide tour to discuss public education. On the tour, she plans to promote Team Texas Public Schools, a group she described as helping train teachers and parents of both political parties to protect neighborhood schools.
  • The former Austin Independent School District trustee has made public education a focal point of her campaign as she seeks to unseat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November. Her push comes as multiple school districts across Texas slash staff positions and programming and shutter campuses to manage deficit budgets and declining enrollment.
  • On Monday, she called for removing Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who oversees the Texas Education Agency; revising how the state evaluates the successes and failures of districts and schools; and eliminating state takeovers.
  • Multiple school districts including Houston, Fort Worth and Beaumont ISDs have been taken over by the state, losing their locally elected boards of trustees to state-appointed boards of managers. 

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