No vouchers! Teachers need an increase in pay and less testing.

Absolutely NO to vouchers. Raise pay and raise pay for veteran teachers. A teacher with 20 plus years of experience shouldn’t be making $8,000 a year more than a first year teacher. Pick a test and stick to it. Stop changing things and Giving teachers inadequate time to understand the changes before testing . Stop trying to trick kids! Let us do our jobs and teach them. Acknowledge our hard work, time, and money spent out of our own pockets. Give us the respect we need or you will be in a bigger mess than ever with teacher shortages!!!

Teachers are the back bone of the economy. We teach students and bring out their inspiration to future careers. Unfortunately, even with the surplus of 2 billion dollars in the Texas government, we are the last one thought about on the Hill, because teacher''s line of work people don''t get the immediate results. Since the government can''t see the here and now, a student hasn''t had an allotment increase since 2017 even though inflation is at an all time high. Our schools invest money to help with minimal pay raises even though they have to send millions back to the government and put into a general funds account that can be used for anything. Last year, they said anyone could do my career even though it was proven it is more specialized than investors. This year the government believes segregating schools with vouchers, which the allotment is almost 4000 dollars per student more than what they are now, will bring new teachers to the career. Although only a small percent will be in those prestigious schools and new teachers will be the last ones to see that money. Teachers don''t need to spread what little time they have to other jobs just to pay their bills and loans. Help teachers, say no to vouchers, increase the allotment for students, and raise the wages for our most valuable investment, because after all the politics, nothing will help the economy and Texas future.

If the legislature was concerned about teacher retention and teacher vacancies they would have voted for a teacher pay raise! We need new representatives that are concerned with the plight of school children in the state of Texas. Vouchers are not the answer to any problems.

Higher pay!! No vouchers!! Less testing!! Teach to the student!!

No to vouchers. They would only be hurting the school districts. Private schools have the advantage of picking their students. That would be like comparing apples to oranges. Teachers are substantially underpaid. There would be No doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. without teachers to motivate, inspire and encourage as well as teaching the students. Teachers are long overdue for a decent raise. The teacher shortage will continue to get worse and worse due to the low pay. Trying to tie teacher pay to testing is like trying to tie an overweight person’s health habits to a doctors pay. The doctors have no control over what a person eats just as teachers have no control over the students home environment or study habits once they leave the school. In fact, there should be less testing therefore allowing more teaching days.

Enough is enough!! Teacher pay can not be held hostage by individuals who continue to work for big corporations instead of supporting hard working educators. The state of Texas has not given us a pay raise since I started teaching in 2006. With such a big surplus in the Texas budget our elected leaders need to show us educators that we matter. Higher pay for teachers with no strings attached to vouchers.

Teachers need more pay! Education does not need the vouchers at all! Public education relies on the funding from the government, and with these vouchers, we lose that and teachers will end up with less pay and lose their jobs! When it comes to testing, the STAAR test needs to be reevaluated! No more testing!

Teachers are some of the hardest working professionals that I know. They give their all on a daily basis, and every time there is a new demand placed on their shoulders they do their best to meet the demand. In order to put a stop to the teacher shortage, then you are going to have to pay teachers and paraprofessionals what they are worth. No to vouchers; yes to pay raises.

Teachers definitely need at least a cost of living raise. More testing is not the answer. These kids are our future.

No on vouchers and yes to teacher pay raise. It’s time legislators do something for teachers and public education without any more days or hours of work

Definitely a no to add more to the flawed standardized tests. As for vouchers, give them the green light. Parents should have the freedom to choose whatever school they want to send their kids to attend. I don''t understand why so many teachers here are against school choice. It''s a huge benefit to students. YES for vouchers and school choice!

Texas teachers need updated, relevant, and local testing. We need a wage where can afford to pay our student loan debts and be able to be part of the middle class of America and the state of Texas. I can''t afford to pay my property taxes and student loans. Vouchers should not take funds from public schools.

No to school vouchers. Students are entitled to a free public school education. If parents choose private education, that is a choice and they should shoulder the cost for that choice. Don’t take money away from public school education—that is a death sentence for public education. We need an educated citizenry for the future of Texas and the United States of America. We are over-testing our students. Raise teacher pay across the board—don’t tie it to vouchers or other hoops. Teachers work hard to educate our students and deserve to be rewarded with decent salaries. It’s not a 9 to 5 job that you can leave at the office. Teachers spend countless hours outside the classroom preparing to educate children. They should be better compensated. No vouchers! Less testing! Better pay!

Teacher pay increase, less student testing, and no vouchers!!! No wonder there’s a teacher shortage which is only going to get worse if changes aren’t implemented soon. Pay raise for teachers not tied to vouchers.

Good Leaders serve to the needs of others. Lead and Support the needs of Teachers. Phenomenal Teachers are Leaving the Profession feeling unsupported. An increased salary equals increased Teacher Retention, in this mentally demanding field. I''ve been teaching 24 years, and I''m hanging by a thread. Support our Devoted Texas Teachers.

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and NO vouchers! Invest in student learning and VALUE teachers.

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

We are in desperate need of good teachers in Texas. Teachers need and deserve substantial pay raise. Negotiating teacher pay with this vouchers seems ridiculous. If you value teachers and the lives of children in Texas then this is priority. The vouchers will destroy our small community schools. Less testing for our students would also be good for our student to take the pressure away.

We need higher salaries in order to live and survive in todays society. Teachers along w/ their families should not have to suffer. We should be able comfortably without the stress of providing for our students whom are less fortunate, providing for our families, and being able to cover our bills. Also students should have to carry the stress of taking so many test throughout the year. They should be engaged in an environment that caters to the joy of learning and not the stress of passing a test.

Teachers are the foundation of young minds learning for everyone, including each of you. Please think about this as you consider the increase in our pay scales. We need to feel valued and appreciated for the work we do. The voucher system does NOT need to happen. It takes the F out of FAPE!! Students also do not need to be evaluated in a one time test. This is both unfair to the student and the teacher.

School Districts as a whole need raises, from the custodians to Administrators, teachers and staff make the school a functional place for kids to feel safe and enjoy attending. So many employees leave the school district to find other jobs less rewarding but that pay them for what they are worth. It’s amazing how gas prices, food, and everything in between keep rising, but not the pay wages for all employees at a school district. Many school districts across the state are not even paying their employees at a competitive rate. This needs to change now!!

Once again, let’s try to attach vouchers to a much deserved teacher pay raise or to anything that would benefit public education. Over 30 years of service and I think I have earned and deserve some appreciation without vouchers being added. I teach all students regardless of learning abilities, social economic levels, or behaviors. I teach and I love my job! Vouchers allow charter schools to be selective and this is what will make our education system better? Pay raises and less testing is how to improve our education system! Let me teach and please support our schools!

Please do not add more testing...less would really be better for students. NO vouchers--the voucher system would just affirm to parents that public school are low quality. They are NOT!!!! Private schools tend to look better because they can pick and choose who attends. How is that equal? Vouchers affirm that.

Vouchers are a Trojan horse for various reasons. Nothing good will come of them in the long term. Not only does it fracture our citizenry, but it''s giving tax dollars to those who need it the least. To tie teachers to test results is nonsensical. For one example among many, most Special Education students are required to take the same STAAR exams as "regular" students. Do we expect them to magically overcome their academic disabilities on test day? Or why are they required to follow the same TEKS as all other students in their grade when they consistently test several grades below in ability? Will a student magically understand quadratic equations when they can''t count change? More testing does not give better results. Teachers are underpaid. We hear this decade after decade, and yet despite the fact that teachers are entrusted with our most precious assets, society does not value their efforts. Why do so many teachers leave the profession? There are a myriad reasons but low pay is near the top. Not only does it make it difficult to make ends meet, it is also a declaration of the esteem of the profession - low esteem - which is psychologically difficult to live with.

I commented on the site from the link that was provided.

Save Texas public schools! Stop the teacher shortage crisis by giving teachers a PAY RAISE!! NO, no, NO vouchers and less student testing!

NO to vouchers and we need less testing, it is taking away from the education of our Sped students by focusing on this test that does not matter in their future lives. Teachers need a pay raise desperately, we are so underpaid for the work we do!!

Teachers need higher pay, students need less testing, and no vouchers! Invest in student learning and value teachers.

Public school teachers need to make a livable wage for the hard work they/we do. Less money spent on testing will allow there to be more money available to pay educators. No vouchers!

Have each one of you personally researched the shortage on teachers for each district? Higher pay and benefits will draw highly qualified educators in to educate our future. As of now, hundreds of subs including long term subs that are not trained nor highly qualified are taking those vacancies. Vouchers will cause this concern to o my increase. Vouchers should ONLY be approved for specialty schools to educate and provide specialty needs to students that public schools do NOT have the staff to provide such as severe behavior or Special needs. Make a DIFFERENCE by making the right choices for our future, educators, and parents!!!

Higher pay for teachers and paraprofessionals No vouchers less testing

No to vouchers! These take away from public schools and only help families fortunate to live in an area where choice is an option. Many schools have gone to open enrollment so families already have access to choice in this urban areas. The state needs to make a statement that it values educators by giving across the board raises. With out educators we would have no professions and educators need to be valued!

As a taxpayer, I gladly pay for PUBLIC education and definitely not to fund private education. Experienced teachers need to be retained with higher pay and smaller class sizes and support in maintaining discipline. We need less testing. I was a proud public school educator for 40 years. Education should be a noble profession, not a business where big money makes political decisions, which is what it has become with political donations.

Texas teachers need better pay. Students need less testing. No vouchers to attend schools that provide fewer services with less testing than public school!!

F. A.P.E If people want to pay for private schools, let them pay.. our laws and taxes are for public schools and if teachers were respected, paid better, and could teach what kids need to be a productive member of society it would be helpful. As it is, we have to teach to a test that measures how a student does on that one day without any concern to how they learn, test, or by adjusting the tests to the abilities for those in the SPED world.

Public schools need higher pay, less testing, and NO VOUCHERS!

All educators need a higher pay raise. No vouchers are needed. Less testing in our schools. Students test all year specially if they are in the Bilingual program. These students test STAAR and TELPAS.

If every test you are given in high stakes then as a student how do you figure out which test is important? A High School student in any given year will take the following test —- Map for Cores at least Twice, SAT School Day, PSAT, TSIA 2.0, EOC, AP, and Telpas Exams plus at least 96 summative exams, 16 Semester and Final Exams. This does not include the Industry Standard Exams students take. Really when do teachers teach content because it seems that instead of allowing teachers to do their jobs; we are spending our time seeing if the students learned material that the teachers are not given time to teach. Stop the insanity. As a testing coordinator I understand testing is essential but over testing is pointless and we are passed pointless enter into the world of insanity.

No, no, NO to vouchers. No to continued high stakes state testing. Please raise our pay!

No, no, NO to vouchers. No to continued high stakes state testing. Please raise our pay! I have been teaching now for 34 years and the only way I have had any increase in pay was to switch to a totally different school district. Other teachers and I across this state are DROWNING. If things do not improve in this state more teachers will leave.

No to vouchers

Teachers do not receive the same amount of respect & consideration as other college educated professionals. Often we are expected to do jobs that are unrealistic. Our pay is often tied into test scores & observations that depend of the observers'' understanding of grade level content. We should not have to fight to be treated like other professionals. Vouchers should not have anything to do with our pay!!

And no teacher ever should vote for Abbott! And somebody run against Morath. Why is no one listening to Houston parents and teachers? We do not want Miles!!!! Does what we want not matter anymore? He does not even hold a current certification. He is a bully. I had to learn how to pass teacher test. I did not need to know the answers because almost every yest I took was rediculous. The answers were convoluted and I was taught how to guess each answer. And it works. We try to trick kids and teach them to think outside the box but the test are so absurd kids get frustrated. And lord so many freaking test now. Disd even tries to get kids to pass test in Art but teachers cannot see it until after test and the questions are bad. This year the district failed overall the Art ACP because it is not about art facts. It is hey what do you think the artist was thinking? Who actually knows. Art is a hands on activity. Every art class is different. Not a regiment. But they successfully kept us down so they do not have to pay art teachers any extra income because we cannot possibly make the points to wven try. TEI and DTR are ruining DISD. Its favoritism and and knowing people who can help you make points. And Houston is own its way. Sadness. They also started T Tess and thats when I began to hate teaching. How would you like to be observed by people atleast 4 times a year and then if they do not like you you are a gonner. Leave me the hell alone and let me teach. I am an excellent teacher. Sick of the BS.

Vouchers are NOT the answer!!! Pay increases to recruit and retain teachers is what is needed.

@GovAbbott what an ass. Tie our raises to your money rich sucking vouchers? How dare you. I guess I will pay back my raise in taxes for your $ sucking vouchers. Not going to happen. You should be giving us our raise, less testing, less teacher bs observation, get rid of miles&morath and TEI in DISD which is happening in Houston. I use to enjoy teaching. Now I cannot even report behavior issues because Asst. Principals do not do anything and if I do the students give me a bad rating so I do not get an increase in DISD which that is the way they want it because they cannot afford to pay every teacher the same (20%). Its obnoxious. I am 21 years now and I get paid barely more then a new teacher. I struggle to pay bills. Summers off. What BS. We work so many hours we make less then minimum wage. Damn give me a secretary. I gave up a lucrative job in advertising to be with my kids more. All teaching has done is make my life hard to live. Everything is based on favoritism and relations.

No vouchers! If a parent wants their child to attend private school, the public should not fund that. Teachers are drastically underpaid. Please give them a significant raise, and our kids need less testing.

PLEASE consider pay raises. The entire Education industry is woefully underpaid. Also, private education is a choice parents make for their children. If a parent chooses that, they know the cost and should be responsible for covering that cost. Don''t ask public education to pay for that expense.

Teachers need raises. We do so much more than just teach. Vouchers should not be tied to raises. The only reason they are are so it will be passed. Less testing more pay.

We do not need vouchers, we need less testing and salary increases. It has been proven that all theses test have not made students anymore ready for college as students before the start of all these test.

No vouchers!! Pay the teachers what the deserve.

Please, no vouchers. Give that money to public school teachers. Less testing.

Use the money that we waste on STAAR and apply it towards a teacher pay raise and say no to vouchers!

Vouchers are not good for rural Texas school districts. Do something to help public schools and Texas teachers.

Now is not the time for school vouchers in Texas. Now is the time to increase Texas educator base salary to begin to compensate for unprecedented inflation.

NO VOUCHERS! Texas teachers and retired teachers need pay raises.

It is unconstitutional to take public school money and funnel it to schools that are set up by private companies. Vote NO to vouchers. Vote YES to support public schools by raising teacher salaries and stop using funds to over pay testing companies to over assess students.

No Vouchers! Teacher pay raises to help to cost of living, health insurance, and to keep quality teachers in the public school systems.

No vouchers!!!

We need higher pay, fewer STAAR tests, & NO vouchers.

Teachers need more pay and less testing. The teachers pay doesn’t need to be tied to vouchers.

No to vouchers and teachers need a pay raise.

No to vouchers !!!!!! Need higher salaries for teachers and less testing!

I feel the voucher will be a death sentence to small communities where the school is important in keeping the community together and alive. It would make the poorer students quite school because they would be unknown in other communities. I have always been proud to be a teacher. I appreciated other teachers for the help they gave my children.