More than 1,500 events are taking place across the state this week in honor of National School Choice Week. The purpose of the awareness week is to encourage parents to research and evaluate the options available for K-12 students leading up to the 2017-18 academic year.

When Cy-Fair ISD’s Community Leadership Committee compiled their legislative priorities for the 85th legislative session, one of their main points focused on school choice.

CLC is a volunteer group of businesspeople, clergy, parents and retirees who want to see the district succeed, said Julie Hinaman, who leads the school choice subcommittee within the group. Hinaman has two children in Cy-Fair schools, and she moved here specifically because of the school district.

Hinaman said CFISD not only prepares students to be college and career ready, but brings about strong business development in the community. Additionally, the school district is one of the largest employers in the area. For these reasons, the public school system is a worthy investment for local taxpayers, she said.

“I have friends who have kids in private school and friends that homeschool, and I completely support their choices to do that,” she said. “What I don’t support is taking taxpayer funds out of public schools.”

Hinaman said one of the main goals of CLC is to oppose legislation that diverts funding from public schools. Taxpayers can hold public schools accountable, and they should not support vouchers that ultimately benefit for-profit organizations, she said.

Subsidies for private tuition for students who can already afford private schools do not benefit economically disadvantaged students, she said.

“Specifically within the Senate, they’re looking at different tools for diverting public funds and calling them vouchers, education savings grants or parental empowerment accounts,” Hinaman said. “These are just fancy words for taking money from the public school system and giving them to parents for private school or for home use.”

The effectiveness and appropriate use of those funds are not regulated, she said.

The full effect of a voucher program on districts like CFISD remains unclear until a bill is actually filed. Proponents of voucher programs, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, claim that they would not hurt public education because public schools would be able to cut costs as more students transfer to private schools. However, opponents say this does not take fixed costs into account that public school districts would have to pay regardless.

Regarding accountability, Hinaman said public schools must follow the state-mandated requirements for evaluating students, school and district performance. Districts must file extensive financial reports, follow open-meeting laws and serve all students, including ESL, special needs and economically disadvantaged.

“If legislators choose to divert public funds to those other types of schools, you better make them jump through the same hoops and follow the same rules,” Hinaman said.

Hinaman said CFISD’s demographics reflect the diversity of the community’s population. With about 115,000 students, the district’s ethnic makeup is: 44.7 percent Hispanic, 26 percent Caucasian, 16.8 percent African-American, 9.4 percent Asian, 2.5 percent multi-racial, 0.5 percent Native American and 0.09 percent Pacific Islander. She said another concern revolves around private schools being able to pick and choose which students they want to educate.

“School choice should not mean that schools choose their students based on wealth, academic achievement, parental involvement, transportation self-sufficiency or predicted future success,” Hinaman said.

Hinaman also noted the importance of public schools being managed by locally-elected trustees, who are required to live within the district boundaries.

“At [Cy-Fair] board meetings, you hear them say ‘Oh, that’s my grandchild’s school,’ and they really care about these schools,” she said.

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