Cast Your Ballot for Texas Public Education

Now!Why voting for pro-public education candidates in

the primary elections is crucial to the future success of our public schools.

If you care about public education in Texas, there’s one simple thing to

remember as we approach the primaries:

Your vote matters!

How? Two big reasons:

1) Your vote helps someone get elected

Sound obvious? It’s not. Due to redistricting, the primary election has more impact on who gets to the legislature in 2013, so your vote actually matters MORE now than it will in the general election.

Ironically, primary elections (especially local ones) usually have a very low voter turnout. The good news is that if you do vote, your vote will have a lot more impact on who ends up forming public education policy in our state. If you don’t, someone else’s will.

Voting in the primaries is important

Your vote in the primary is not “a symbol.” It’s a powerful political action with significant consequences. It helps determine who forms policy in our state. By waiting until the November election, you significantly decrease the value of your voice.

Why vote now? Because it matters now. During the primary election on May 29 your vote could change the outcome. By November many candidates will be running unopposed, so you will only have one option. Exercise your rights and responsibilities now, or pay the price of having no options later.

2) Your vote has a direct impact on policyElecting lawmakers who don’t support Texas public education has negative consequences on the public education system, whereas electing legislators who are supportive of Texas public education has positive consequences.

It’s that simple.

Education-related policy gets passed regardless of who gets elected to the legislature, but who makes up the legislature has a real impact on public education.

We need to reflect on...

Whether the legislators who pass education laws truly represent our positions.

Whether we are electing candidates who believe that public education requires adequate resources to function.

What constitutes a true public education candidate, so that we can make informed decisions at the ballot box.

How do you know if your candidate agrees with you on public education

Financial management: What is their plan to provide adequate funding for all Texas public schools?

Human capital: How would they help schools recruit and retain highly qualified teachers?

Student achievement: How do they think we can better prepare our students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed after high school graduation?

Engagement: Which PTA/PTO leaders, school board members, and superintendents have they talked with to find out their legislative concerns?

Pro-public education legislators accomplish great things

Early Childhood: In 2009, legislators passed an increase of $25 million for the Early Start Grant Program. This program provided school districts with funds to expand their pre-k program from a half day to a full day for low-income, military and foster children.

AP Incentive Program: Success in AP classes is tied directly to students enrolling in college and successfully completing a degree. Recognizing that, the legislature appropriated $28 million in 2009 to incentivize more schools to offer AP courses and to cover costs of AP exam fees for Texas high school students. As a result we’ve seen AP programs flourish in parts of the state with many low-income families.

But because there were people in office in 2011 that did not prioritize

public education, we ended up cutting $5.4 billion from the public

education budget, including:

Technology allotment $271MFull day pre-k grants $223M

Teacher incentive pay $345M

The members who cast the votes to cut public education were

representing someone.

Are you sure it was you?

For the benefit of our children and our future,

pro-public education candidates need to be

elected.

If parents, educators, and citizens want to have influence on public

education in Texas, we have to VOTE!!