The background
The district announced the launch of a petition called Take Action Argyle in a Sept. 28 news release, as previously reported by Community Impact. The petition asked for users to submit their information to send a prewritten letter to Gov. Greg Abbot's office asking for public education funding to be added to the session's agenda. Below are the concerns listed in the description of Take Action Argyle:
- Argyle ISD is one of few districts in the state that has received the Formula Transition Grant since 2019 and faces a significant funding cliff beginning with the 2024-25 fiscal year when FTG expires.
- Argyle ISD is still subject to losing approximately $250,000 via the Robin Hood formula of “recapture.”
- No change has been made to the basic allotment despite 40-year record inflation.
Carpenter, Westrom and Artho represented the district Oct. 9 during a special session at 1 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. meeting of the Senate Finance Committee. The letter states that the Senate Finance Committee discussed Senate Bill 2. Though not currently on the agenda, SB 2 addresses public school funding and teacher compensation and is up for debate by the Senate this week.
The three AISD representatives publicly testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee, with Carpenter calling this a critical step in potentially getting SB 2 passed. If passed, SB 2 would provide a minimum of $75 in an increase to the basic allotment, the amount of per-student funding that is provided to districts. The basic allotment has remained at $6,160 since 2019, despite inflation.
Carpenter, Westrom and Artho also met with Sen. Tan Parker, state Rep. Lynn Stucky and state Rep. Richard Hayes to give testimonies about the district's funding challenges. The release states that the district received a follow-up call from Parker to discuss these challenges further.
Quote of note
"The basic allotment of $6,160 may have been sufficient in 2019, but it's not working to maintain our operations and continue to provide the opportunities our students and our parents experience and expect from Argyle ISD," Carpenter said. "We have a positive learning experience, and they deserve us to continue to provide that for them. Our high-performing district is at risk of significant funding reductions, which will impact our ability to appropriately plan for growth and adequately provide for our award-winning programs and innovative student opportunities."
