Don’t Mess With Texas Public Schools and 'Friday Night Lights': The Case Against Vouchers

I was born and raised in Texas and am proud to be a public school graduate. Like countless Texans, “our public schools” are more than educational institutions. They are the bedrock of communities and neighborhoods. Texans sing their school songs, wear their school colors, and stand by their public schools.

Disturbingly, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott aims to destroy this cherished tradition and much of what makes Texas great. He has called for a special session of the Texas Legislature to begin on October 9, 2023, to discuss diverting public school funding to private school vouchers, which would include diverting Texas taxpayer dollars to out-of-state private school chains.

In the past, the Texas House of Representatives has repeatedly rejected such efforts to undermine and harm Texas’s public schools. This is noteworthy because, despite the severe underfunding of public schools in Texas by Gov. Abbott and the Texas Senate – even with a record $32.7 billion budget surplus – Texans understand the value and importance of their public schools and have staunchly opposed their privatization and defunding.

The slogan “Don’t Mess With Texas” resonates deeply with those who attended or have children in public schools. As reporter David Goodman explains:

In far-flung districts around the state, parents and educators have defended their schools, which are often the biggest local employer and the center of community life.

Despite well-financed political campaigns by groups like the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation and the American Federation of Children, which was founded by Trump’s former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to privatize education and undermine public schools, Texans have stood united and with enormous pride in protecting this critical community resource.

Once it is gone, it is almost impossible to get it back.

Consequently, Texans are rightfully skeptical and disdainful toward these outside forces of destruction.

Notably, when we talk about privatization, it’s crucial to consider the children who are most vulnerable to the consequences of these policies. Public schools offer a wide range of services that many private institutions do not, such as specialized programs for children with disabilities and means for low-income students. When funds are drained from public schools, these essential services are at risk, disproportionately affecting children who are already marginalized and in need of all their public schools can offer.

Texas State Rep. James Talarico, a stalwart Champion for Children in the Lone Star State, has highlighted the dangers that billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks pose to public education in Texas.

Gov. Abbott’s agenda is transparent as he tours private religious schools across the State, advocating for the use of taxpayer money for religious education.

This is not just about education; it’s about a disturbing merger of church and state, a pathway opposed by the founding fathers of the United States and a pathway that many religious leaders in Texas strongly reject.

As Nora De La Cour explains:

[Abbott] recently urged Christian clergy to use their pulpits to preach the gospel of “parent empowerment,” declaring that October 15 will be “School Choice Sunday.” But while he’s gotten support from some prominent faith leaders, he’s drawn vehement condemnation from others, including the Texas Baptists’ Convention, and Pastors for Texas Children….

Abbott’s choice of timing may also prove fatal, as his proposed special session with occur in the middle of “Friday Night Lights.” Across Texas, communities are flocking to their neighborhood schools every Friday night to support their public high school football teams and bands. Win or lose, Texans revel in their sports teams and bands and are united in opposition to forces that seek to destroy them. If Gov. Abbott, billionaires Dunn and Wilks, and out-of-state privatizers like DeVos and the Heritage Foundation have their way, that will go away.

Moreover, evidence from other states reveals the pitfalls of privatization. In states like Florida, public taxpayer dollars have been redirected and siphoned off toward frivolous purchases under the guise of “21st-century learning” or such things as the private purpose of big-screen TVs, theme park passes, paddleboards, kayaks, treadmills, indoor trampolines, and PlayStation gaming consoles.

This is a dangerous precedent, especially considering the importance of providing a stable and enriching educational environment for children. Diverting funds for extravagant or irrelevant purchases puts the educational future of our kids at risk and detracts from the essential services and quality instruction that public schools can offer.

And as we reflect on the dangers of mixing government with religion, let’s remember the words of James Madison, who said:

The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.

With that in mind, Texans should know that the school privatization agenda includes the spreading of the “Seven Mountains Theology” by dominionists into the public schools. The following video by Christoper Tackett shows clips from these proponents, which includes Rafael Cruz (Sen. Ted Cruz’s father) and explains their desire to transform all aspects of American life, including public schools.

For what it means to Texas’s public schools and students, consider downloading and listening to the NBC News podcast called Grapevine and watch this related video in which reporter Antonia Hylton asks students how they feel about the growing influence of politics and religion on their education.

Texans should heed the words of Coach Eric Taylor of the Dillon Panthers from the iconic TV series, Friday Night Lights:

            Clear eyes. Full heart. Can’t lose.

Now is the time to listen to the children and community leaders across Texas rather than the big-money interests of billionaires and school privatizers. Now is also the time to contact the Texas Legislature and urge them to reject public school privatization and private school vouchers before it is too late.

It’s time to demand full, equitable funding for Texas’s public schools. It’s not just an educational issue, although protecting the future of Texas’s children should be reason enough to do it. It’s also a matter of preserving the soul of Texas’s urban, suburban, and rural communities.

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