KOLKHORST ‘PROUD’ OF EDUCATION FUNDING BILL

  

Local State Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst is touting this week’s passage of increased education funding.

This past week, the Texas Senate passed House Bill 3, which raises the state's share of education funding by $9 billion.

According to Kolkhorst the bill also eliminates two STAAR tests and breaks up remaining STAAR tests into, what she says are, “shorter less stressful segments.”  She adds that the bill also, “delivers an ongoing state-funded $5,000 pay raise for classroom teachers and librarians, and also provides billions in property tax relief.”

Kolkhorst goes on to say, the state’s “teachers, students and taxpayers deserve unwavering support,” and that she’s “proud that the Texas Senate passed House Bill 3 by a margin of 26-2.”

House Bill 3 now moves to a conference committee between the Senate and House to work out differences between the two versions.

The Brenham school district has come out against provisions of the bill, which Superintendent Walter Jackson says includes four new writing tests in grades 3-8 and a new assessment for kindergarteners.

Jackson says parents, educators, and the general public have made it clear that students are already tested too much.