There’s a Texas-Sized Gap between the public ed position of the two Dem candidates in SD15.
By Ruth Kravetz
Senate District 15 was initially a crowded primary, with six candidates. Almost all of the candidates are known across several communities in Houston. One was even a former congressional candidate.
Now, we are down to two: Molly Cook, an ER nurse and organizer who served as the sparkplug of the movement that passed Houston’s Prop B last November, and Jarvis Johnson, the current State House representative for House District 139.
I am voting for Molly, and public ed is one of the main reasons why.
Public Ed: SD 15’s Most Overlooked Issue
Public education has been one of the more unspoken storylines of this senate race. The winner will have a lot of weight in what our public ed system looks like in the future.
And the election comes at a critical moment. Abbott’s voucher plan is slowly becoming the norm in the majority (Republican) party, and has even picked up support from one Democratic runoff nominee in House District 139 (Angie Thibodeaux).
The privatization of public schools comes in concert with the complete infringement on Houston Independent School District’s right to govern itself, an unmitigated disaster unleashed by Greg Abbott with an assist from Harold Dutton, managed by installed Superintendent F Mike Miles. Miles seeks to dismantle the state’s largest district as quickly as he can.
In addition, some important state laws do not even apply to charters, especially those that relate to conflicts of interest by charter leaders, leading to misuse of taxpayer dollars through insider real estate transactions as reported by the Houston Chronicle in 2023. In addition, oversight and enforcement of charter schools by the Texas Education Agency is limited, resulting in scandals such as the lease of a private jet by one charter school and a luxury box at a sports arena in San Antonio. Meanwhile, the Houston Landing recently reported that 85% of charter schools in Houston aren’t even complying with transparency laws.
And yet, lurking quietly behind all of this discussion is a cross section of the Texas House Democratic Houstonian delegation’s slow acceptance of the charter school lobby to their side of the chamber. In both Austin and Houston ISD races, pro-charter forces funded by just four billionaires have dumped big money into races for elected officials that will decide the future of our public schools. For example, Betsy DeVos who was the Secretary of Education under Trump, parlays her money across party lines, flooding the coffers of Republicans and DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) alike like Shawn Thierry who regularly supports pro-charter legislation at the expense of our local public schools.
These are not small issues. Charter lobbyists have built aggressive and entrepreneurial institutions that prey on public education. These institutions have been normalized in both major political parties, particularly in the Houston area.
Our local legislators vote on important education issues, and we must ensure that they vote the interest of the majority of students who choose to attend their local public school – not charter schools.
Johnson’s Connection to High Dollar Privatizers
Which brings us to Senate District 15: In this primary alone, Johnson has taken over $100,000 from the Charter Schools Now PAC and Legacy 44 PAC. These are Texas PACs funded largely by out-of-state billionaires who favor expansion of charter schools and support legislation that favor charters over public school districts. standardized testing, and anti-teacher policies instead of funding public education.
Legacy 44 is closely tied to Republican donors and charter supporters. It has been primarily funded this year by two of the nation’s richest men – Michael Bloomberg, an avid charter supporter and Jim Walton who identifies as a conservative Republican.
One funder of Charter Schools Now is Christian Nationalist Billionaire Tim Dunn, one of the absolute worst influences on modern Texas politics, especially on education issues. He is terrible on public ed, of course; he is terrible on every issue. He invests in defeating school bonds in small towns. And he sits on the board of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a far right “think tank” that sells Trumpism at the Legislature.
The Policy Gulf
It’s one thing to take money from an organization. It’s another to vote their interests. Representative Johnson has claimed a sharp distinction between the two, telling the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board that “Anybody who makes a donation to my campaign, that means they have access… Doesn’t mean that they get a yes.”
And yet when it comes to charter schools, Johnson’s votes reflect the influence of his funding. As an example, Jarvis Johnson was one of only a handful of Democrats who voted for the top charter school priority in the 2021 session in an up or down vote to give charter schools special treatment in the city permitting process. This legislation would have made charter expansion easier and limited local control regarding where new charter campuses can build new facilities in our communities.
The Bottom Line on Your Ballot Line
This policy difference has real-world implications in so many ways, and it’s critical to our current moment and critical to the future of our public schools. We should not have to convince our Houston legislators to stand up for our children and our schools.
Molly Cook’s stance on public education on her website is as follows:
“Free, high-quality public education is the bedrock of a healthy, Democratic society. It is also a primary, constitutional requirement of the Texas state government. Every child should have access to excellent schools regardless of the income of their parents or the neighborhood in which they live. Public schools serve every child, regardless of abilities, and charter and private schools do not have to. Children deserve quality education just by nature of being Texas children. Public education policy in Texas must be evidence-based and center the voices of teachers and students. Molly is opposed to school vouchers, charter school expansion, and book bans.”
Molly supports:
- Increasing per student funding and enrollment-based funding rather than attendance-based funding
- Separation of church and state in public schools
- Reducing reliance on STAAR and standardized testing
- Raises for teachers and teaching support staff
As demonstrated by the Charles Butt Foundation’s 2023 Texas Education Poll, Texans across the board support investing in public education and teachers. Texans deserve principled, resolute leaders, who will stand up to special interests and deep pockets trying to undermine and sabotage Texas public schools. Molly endorsed Texas State Proposition 9, which is a cost-of-living increase to pensions for retired teachers.“
We need elected leaders who are clearly on the right side of this issue.
In the SD 15 runoff, that’s Molly Cook.