At a glance
Nearly half of that funding will be spent on raises for educators and support staff, such as bus drivers, janitors and librarians. HB 2 also adjusts the state’s school finance system by creating new funding allotments for fixed costs and other expenses, which proponents have said could give school districts more spending flexibility.
State lawmakers estimated in May that schools will receive “north of $17,700” per student under the long-negotiated school funding package—up from about $15,502 in the 2022-23 school year, according to Texas Education Agency data.
The funding increase comes as school districts across Community Impact’s coverage areas grapple with growing budget shortfalls, leading some districts to consider closing campuses, cutting staff and slashing elective courses.
Over a dozen school associations and advocacy groups praised lawmakers’ work on HB 2 after the bill was sent to the governor in late May, calling the legislation a “lifeline” for cash-strapped schools.
“Texas students deserve the highest quality education that our schools can provide, and that requires significant resources from the state,” the Texas Classroom Teachers Association said in the May 29 statement. “HB 2’s [$8.4] billion investment in teachers and schools, much of it flowing directly into classrooms, represents a targeted approach to providing the support and assistance our students and teachers need.”
Zooming in
Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who sponsored HB 2 in the Senate, told Community Impact July 21 that lawmakers changed “the budget architecture for how public schools are funded going forward.”
HB 2 establishes a $3.7 billion teacher retention allotment, providing permanent raises for teachers with at least three years of classroom experience. Lawmakers opted to give larger raises to teachers in small school districts, which Creighton has said will help close a pay gap between urban or suburban and rural teachers.
In districts with 5,000 students or less:
- Teachers with 3-4 years of experience will receive a $4,000 raise
- Educators with at least five years of experience will receive an $8,000 raise
- Educators with 3-4 years of experience will get a $2,500 raise
- More experienced teachers will earn a $5,000 raise
School support staff will receive pay raises under a $500 million allotment.
HB 2 also includes a $55 increase to the base amount of per-student funding schools receive from the state. Districts can use these funds, known as the basic allotment, for a variety of needs, including purchasing classroom materials, renovating facilities and paying teachers or staff.
The $55 basic allotment increase falls short of a roughly $1,300 increase requested by some school leaders, who said it was needed to keep up with inflationary costs. Lawmakers said spreading funding across multiple allotments would ensure money goes to the classroom.
“When we've raised the basic allotment only, ... we haven't seen those dollars always driven to the classroom,” Creighton told Community Impact. “We made sure with our new allotments, that we achieve targeted strategies towards what will increase student outcomes and academics and what will also reward and protect our teachers, both with compensation and insurance coverage.”
Max Rombado, the legislative director for the public school advocacy organization Raise Your Hand Texas, said creating targeted funding allotments can be complicated in a state as large and diverse as Texas.
“While the impact may generally be positive, there are a variety of complexities and differences between school districts that might create challenges when you create these guardrails around this money,” Rombado told Community Impact July 18.
He said a larger basic allotment increase would have given Texas public schools “the most flexible funding,” because that money can be used for a variety of purposes.
“Having the autonomy to pivot and invest money that [districts] have been given allows them to adapt to changing times a little more efficiently and effectively.”
Before House lawmakers approved the final version of HB 2 in late May, Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, questioned why lawmakers had not passed “comprehensive” school finance legislation since 2019, when they raised the basic allotment from $5,140 to $6,160.
Talarico noted that state lawmakers had a nearly $33 billion budget surplus at their disposal in 2023; however, school funding legislation stalled after four special legislative sessions that year.
“For six years, we have been unable or unwilling to provide the real funding needed to stop school closures, stop [budget] cuts and stop teacher layoffs,” Talarico, who voted in favor of HB 2, said May 29.
Abbott told reporters June 4 that lawmakers did not need to increase state education spending for several years due to higher-than-average federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a massive influx of billions upon billions of dollars from the federal government during the time of COVID[-19], and that funding was there to fully fund education,” he said. “This year, we don’t have that—and that’s why it was necessary that Texas step up this time and make sure we provide funding in a record form.
