Argyle ISD Superintendent Courtney Carpenter, along with trustees Josh Westrom and Leigh Ann Artho, attended the legislative special session to represent the district and discuss funding challenges, according to an Oct. 11 news release from Carpenter and the district.
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.
