IN THE NEWS: Hinojosa Launches “Team Texas Public Schools” to Fight Public School Crisis

Austin American-Statesman: “On the tour, [Hinojosa] 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.”

Austin, TX – Gina Hinojosa, Democratic nominee for Texas governor, yesterday launched 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.

Hinojosa’s “push comes as multiple school districts across Texas slash staff positions and programming and shutter campuses to manage deficit budgets and declining enrollment,” writes the Austin American-Statesman. “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,” added KXAN.

“It is never the right answer to struggling schools to take power away from parents and communities,” Hinojosa said. “I will return those school districts back to communities.” As governor, Hinojosa “wants to pause the state’s accountability rating system for schools, and she wants Texas teachers to be among the highest paid in the nation,” reports KVUE.

See more below.

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

WATCH HERE

  • Governor Greg Abbott’s leadership, many public schools have closed because of budget issues, and teachers are leaving the profession.
  • Hinojosa says she wants to get educators, families, and public school supporters involved with spreading her campaign message, which includes supporting public education.
  • Representative Hinojosa outlined several changes she wants to make if elected governor. She wants to fire Texas Education Agency commissioner Mike MorathMarra. She also wants to pause the state’s accountability rating system for schools, and she wants Texas teachers to be among the highest paid in the nation.

CBS Austin: Hinojosa launches program to fight Texas school closures, citing public school crisis

WATCH HERE

  • “I will tell you that our public schools are on life support right now,” Hinojosa said. 
  • “Ten schools in this city alone in the school district are shutting down, but it is happening all over this state,” Hinojosa said.
  • She also blamed Gov. Greg Abbott for the situation, saying, “And it is important for supporters of our public schools for parents and teachers to understand that Greg Abbott meant for this to happen.” 
  • Austin ISD parent and former district principal Claudia Kramer Santamaria said she believes Hinojosa is the right advocate for Texas public schools. 
  • Hinojosa also criticized Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath for what she called a “rigged” A-F report card system, saying Morath gets to “make the [STAAR] test, rate the test, look at results, and then decide who fails and who passes,” and added, “And he rigs it to make it show what he wants it to show. And he wants it to show that our Texas public schools aren’t strong. And he wants it to show that privatization is a better option.”

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. 

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.
  • The announcement comes as Austin ISD faces heightened scrutiny from the Texas Education Agency, which recently denied the district’s request for a two-year pause in accountability ratings, a decision that could put the district at risk of a state takeover.
  • “This is a popular, populous plan,” she said. “It is not Republican, it is not Democratic. Texas public schools transcend politics.”

###