State of Texas: Texans speak at DNC as race tightens

  

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Democrats formally nominated Vice President Kamala Harris for President at their convention this week, where several Texans delivered powerful messages on policy and politics.

Opening night included a speech from Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, where she teared up while telling a story about an encounter with Vice President Harris in early 2023.

“When I first got to Congress, I wasn’t sure I made the right decision,” Crockett said, noting the tensions on Capitol Hill shortly after she took office. She said she “was going through all of that” when she visited the vice president’s residence.

“As I approached Vice President Harris for our official photo, she turned to me and asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ Mind you, we’d never met, but she saw right through me. She saw the distress. I immediately began crying,” said Crockett, pausing to gather herself before finishing the story.

“And the most powerful woman in the world wiped my tears and listened,” Crockett continued. “She then said, among other things: ‘You are exactly where God wants you. Your district chose you because they believe in you, and so do I.'”

Shortly after Crockett spoke, the convention spotlight turned to Josh and Amanda Zurwaski. The Texas couple shared the painful story of how they lost a baby girl to pregnancy complications, and how the state’s restrictions on abortion put Amanda’s life at risk.

“We waited until Amanda was sick enough to receive standard abortion care. Eventually, Amanda’s temperature spiked. She was shaking, disoriented, and crashing,” said Josh to a crowd of thousands who fell near silent as he spoke. “I’m here tonight because the fight for reproductive rights isn’t just a woman’s fight. This is about fighting for our families, and as Kamala Harris says, our future.”

The theme of reproductive rights in Texas continued Tuesday night during the convention roll call vote. Texas mother Kate Cox took the microphone when the cameras turned to the state’s delegation.

Cox was the mom at the center of a challenge to Texas’ abortion ban last year, which began after she tried to receive a medical exception to the ban. She had received a fatal fetal diagnosis, and argued her health and future fertility would be at risk if she gave birth. The case went to the Texas Supreme Court, which denied an abortion. In the meantime, as the legal case played out, she left the state to get an abortion.

“There’s nothing pro-family about abortion bans. There’s nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die,” said Cox, addressing the convention audience. “Today, because I found a way to access abortion care, I am pregnant again, and my baby is due in January, just in time to see Kamala Harris sworn in.”

Former President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the Supreme Court decision that ended Roe v. Wade, noting he appointed some of the justices who drove the decision. Trump has said he supports allowing individual states to decide abortion policies.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state,” said Trump earlier this year in a video post on Truth Social.

Ahead of Harris’ Thursday night acceptance speech, another Texas mom took the stage — Kimberley Mata-Rubio, who told the story her daughter’s death during the Robb Elementary School shooting. Mata-Rubio spoke about how Lexi, 10, was honored on the morning of the shooting at a ceremony marking the end of the school year.

“She receives a good citizen award, and we pose for photos. She wears a St. Mary’s sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room,” said Mata-Rubio, her voice breaking. She paused before continuing the story. “Thirty minutes later, a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers. We are taken to a private room where police tell us she isn’t coming home.”

“Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again,” she said.

Also in the leadup to Harris’s acceptance speech, Texas Congressman Colin Allred took to the stage to tout his campaign to defeat Senator Ted Cruz.

“I’m the guy who’s going to turn Texas’ Senate seat blue,” Allred said. “We will protect and restore reproductive freedom, we will secure the border, we will protect Medicare and Social Security, and we’ll turn the page and write a new chapter for this country — elect Kamala Harris to be the next president and beat Ted Cruz.”

Chants of “beat Ted Cruz” rang through the crowd as he walked off stage.

The next morning, Cruz started a campaign tour in Texas. More than 400 people joined Cruz for a rally in Georgetown, waving “Keep Texas Texas” and donning the red “Make America Great Again” hats as the two-term senator kicked off a six-stop tour he hopes will engage his conservative base in a competitive reelection.

“Texas is a battleground, there’s no doubt Texas is a battleground,” Cruz said. “It’s not going to work. Take a look at a morning like this, 9 a.m. in Williamson County. The folks that are coming out, they are energized, they are empowered, they defend Texas, they want to keep Texas ‘Texas’…I’m confident that’s how Texas is going to vote in November.”

Cruz is a well-funded, longtime Texas official with a national profile in a reliably red state — but he’s not taking anything for granted. After previous Democratic star Beto O’Rourke pushed Cruz to within three points of his political life in 2018, Cruz is taking Allred’s challenge seriously.

“We have a battle on our hands,” Cruz warned the crowd. “Chuck Schumer has made explicit I’m his number one target in the country. They are coming after the State of Texas. My last reelect, we won by less than 2.6%. And the Democrats intend to spend more than $100 million trying to win this state.”

A poll from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University shows a tight race for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, falling within the margin of error. The poll put support for Cruz among likely voters at 46.6%, while his challenger, Allred, sat at 44.5%. The results are unchanged from what the June survey results showed, pollsters said.

The same poll shows Trump leading Harris in Texas by almost five percentage points. It’s the first major poll done in the state since the switch happened at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in July.

The survey, done earlier this month by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, showed Harris performing better in Texas than President Joe Biden did among likely voters. In the June poll, Trump led Biden by nine percentage points (49%-40%). The latest results have Harris shaving off approximately half of the Republican’s advantage — with 49.5% now saying they intend to vote for Trump and 44.6% saying they support Harris.

The poll included a group of 1,365 Texans and had a margin of error of 2.65%, according to the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs.

DPS ending ID gender changes could spur legislation, lawsuits

On Tuesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s surprise directive for employees to deny court orders that change the gender marker on driver’s licenses drew praise from conservatives this week, while civil rights attorneys argue that the move may be discriminatory and illegal.

“We think it’s incredibly important that IDs in Texas are accurate instead of being based off of perceived gender identification,” said Megan Benton, an organizer with conservative advocacy group Texas Values.

DPS’ policy change is a reflection of the Texas GOP’s official party platform, which opposes “all efforts to validate transgender identity.”

“The official position of the Texas schools shall be that there are only two genders: biological male and biological female, which are immutable and cannot be changed. We support the total prohibition of so-called social transitioning,” the Texas GOP’s 2024 platform states.

Prior to DPS’ switch, transgender Texans could obtain a court order that directs state agencies to change gender markers on records, including on a driver’s license. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is questioning whether those orders are enforceable.

“The Office of the Attorney General has recently raised concerns regarding the validity of court orders being issued which purport to order state agencies – including DPS – to change the sex of individuals in government records,” a DPS spokesperson said on Wednesday. “The lack of legislative authority and evidentiary standards for the Courts to issue these orders has resulted in the need for a comprehensive legal review by DPS and the OAG.”

Nexstar contacted DPS and the Attorney General’s Office for more information about their concerns, but has not yet received a response.

Civil rights lawyers said DPS’ new policy denies transgender Texans equal recognition by their state.

“When you don’t have identity documents that match who you are, that means it’s hard for you to get housing, it’s hard for you to have a bank account, it’s hard for you to get health care, it’s hard for you to do all of those things that someone who is cisgender or who is not transgender does every day,” said Shelly Skeen, a Lambda Legal attorney.

Skeen said that the policy change may prompt legal action. State agencies are required to follow court orders — and the Attorney General cannot simply direct agencies to flout the judiciary, she said.

“Judicial court orders are meant to be binding on state agencies, and so for the Attorney General or for the governor to unilaterally say you can disregard a court order…that would be a violation of the lane that the executive is supposed to be in,” Skeen said.

Texas doesn’t have a law regulating formal gender changes, so the specific requirements can differ across jurisdictions. State law does require state agencies to notify the public and provide a period of public comment prior to adoption of new rules.

Conservatives hope lawmakers will pass a law next session to prevent state agencies from recognizing transgender people.

“We look forward to working with the Governor further on this issue and other members of the legislature to further protect the rights of women and children,” Benton said. “I’m sure this will be something that is explored further by many members of the legislature.”

At what cost?’: Facing deficits in the millions, some Texas districts make cuts

Spanish teacher Shaun Hopkins watched from his laptop as the Austin ISD school board discussed hypothetical budget cuts that would impact his kids, his classroom and his friends.   

In a July workshop, AISD leaders said the district would need voters to approve a tax increase and trim millions from its budget in order to close a $119 million deficit.

According to AISD Superintendent Matias Segura, it was fair to assume Texas lawmakers would not act on increasing public school funding.

The district could save millions if it stopped busing kids across town to magnet schools. Another $3 million if they got rid of nurses. An additional $1.4 million if the district changed librarians into aides.

Hopkins, who runs the dual language program at Small Middle School, felt a gut punch when district officials mentioned the $20 million the district could save if it stopped offering special education and bilingual teacher stipends—two roles consistently vacant across the state.

“I can tell you that a lot of teachers might not stick around if you take away that stipend,” Hopkins said. “That’s how they are raising their families in this expensive city.”

The superintendent cautioned that the options discussed during the meeting were just that: options — a list of things that could be eliminated.  

But he warned, eventually, something would have to be cut.

School boards across Texas are having conversations around potential budget cuts as they deal with inflation, an attendance rate that never quite bounced back after the pandemic, and the Texas Education Agency’s forecast of flat enrollment over the next five years.  

Our team found that 18 of the 24 Central Texas school districts that have already adopted budgets for this school year are in deficit. School budgets show shortfalls ranging from $374,000 at Rockdale ISD to $119 million at Austin ISD, the area’s largest school district.

The shortfalls extend beyond Central Texas. Houston ISD is facing a $211 million deficit. Dallas ISD confirmed it’s $187 million in the red. Fort Worth ISD is $17 million, and El Paso ISD is $12 million.

The impact of the budget shortfalls is already apparent in some districts.

A compensation agreement between Austin ISD leadership and the union Education Austin shows that teachers will only get a permanent pay raise if voters approve a tax rate increase.

Districts across Texas are using the voter-approved tax rate increase, or VATRE, to raise additional funding amid budget shortfalls. Austin ISD stands to raise $171 million in additional funding if voters approve it, but the state is expected to recapture most of that money and re-distribute it to other school districts.

The administration said that even if voters approve that tax rate increase and the district meets its multi-million-dollar budget cut goal, it will still have a $41 million deficit.

“We have values that we’re trying to protect,” Segura said. “You can make an adjustment and save $22 million, you know, $19 million, but at what cost?”

Leander ISD officials said in a May board meeting that the state underfunded its special education program by $25 million.

Round Rock ISD balanced its budget through what its superintendent called “surgical but difficult” cuts. School leaders made those cuts to the high school, middle, and elementary school classrooms.

“There is not much more we can do after this year if our state doesn’t change the way it funds public schools,” Round Rock ISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said. “We are pretty much stuck.”

Texas lawmakers weigh in on school budget deficits

In January, school districts will look to lawmakers to act on mounting pressure to increase funding for public schools. They are also bracing for the governor’s mission to create education savings accounts, a program allowing state dollars to go to private schools.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, said the billions in additional funding for public schools was not authorized because Texas Gov. Greg Abbott insisted on it being tied to vouchers.

“It is not right to play games with our kids and hold them hostage in exchange for the funding they’re entitled to,” Hinojosa said.

Gov. Abbott’s Office told KXAN he “will not stop until school choice is the law of the land.”

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, is leading the charge for the voucher-like program in the Texas legislature. He said previous bills increasing public school funding failed during the regular session and in the multiple special sessions because superintendent and teacher organizations were testifying in committees; they would rather not have the funding if it meant school choice would pass.

“If they can kill that extra school choice funding, they’ll accept the new money. But if they can’t kill school choice, they’d rather deny themselves the new money. That’s really tough testimony, right?” Creighton said. “They should accept our efforts to provide unprecedented funding for public schools and accept these education options and choices for the children of Texas that need help the most.”

The last time lawmakers increased the basic allotment, the base amount of money the state provides per student was in 2019 under House Bill 3. The legislation allocated $6,160 to school districts per student, factoring in attendance.

The legislature has not increased it in the five years since then, which have been marked by a pandemic, inflation, and a historic teacher shortage.

Multiple Central Texas school leaders told KXAN they need at least a $1,000 increase to the basic allotment to restore the purchasing power they had in 2019. However, lawmakers’ most recent proposals, the increase fell short of that figure, and all failed to pass.

House Bill 100, authored by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, proposed a $90 increase to the basic allotment (and a $500 allotment for students evaluated for special education services) during the regular session. Senate Bill 2 would have raised the allotment by $75 during the third special session. House Bill 1, authored by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, tried to add $700 to the basic allotment during the fourth and final special session.

“I was shocked when they were talking about $50, $100. What would $100 do?” Azaiez said. “I mean, we’ll take it, obviously. We’re desperate here. But like, honestly, that was not what we need. We need a lot more.”

Creighton said he is still weighing the opinions of new members on whether to propose another bill that ties public school funding increases and education savings accounts in the same legislation.

Creighton recalls his education savings account bill from the regular session, Senate Bill 8, which would have allocated $10,000 to small districts for every student they lost to private schools through the education savings accounts. Districts would have been entitled to that money for up to five years after the student left and would only be eligible if it had less than 20,000 students enrolled.

“Superintendent organizations are now asking, ‘Can we have that deal back?’” Creighton said. “That’s why they’re coming to me now saying, ‘Can we get that deal back that was on the table when the session ended?’ Because that actually was a good deal.”

Creighton did not name the superintendents he was referring to.

Hinojosa said House lawmakers are three votes down in their effort to defeat education savings accounts because of the governor’s efforts to “[take] out Republicans who were opposed to vouchers.”

“We’re fighting to keep those public dollars for our students, to pay our teachers, who are about $10,000 below the national average when it comes to teacher pay, to have the best teachers we can in the classroom to educate our kids,” Hinojosa said.

“Shouldn’t we ensure that our kids can access the best education they can at our neighborhood public schools when those are the schools everyone is entitled to go to?” Hinojosa added.

Hopkins’ daughters returned to school Tuesday, optimistic and excited about the school year ahead, while Shaun met his new class of students, worried about decisions that are out of his hands.

His district, Austin ISD, aims to cut $48 million from its budget regardless of whether voters approve a tax rate increase.

“Knowing how deep that deficit is, something will have to be cut,” Hopkins said. “A lot of time, once the funding is cut, it never comes back.”