We cannot rest until all of our citizens are prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Texas is making progress toward this end and has emerged as a national leader in the areas of educational innovation, reform, and accountability. Texas must ensure that its high school graduates are ready to enter college or the modern workforce. Aggressively Address Texas' Teacher Shortage Texas faces critical teacher shortages, concentrated in higher grades, specific subject areas and some urban areas. While some districts use stipends or signing bonuses to attract teachers in some subject areas, most Texas districts still have uniform pay scales tied to the state's minimum salary schedule, which is based on experience.
Districts are free to institute different pay scales, but few choose to do so.
Schools should reward effective teachers and offer salaries and amenities that will lure qualified professionals into the classroom, and teachers should be rewarded for improving the performance of their students. The formula used to distribute Permanent School Fund revenue should be modernized. The additional revenue this would generate could be applied toward helping school districts establish benefit packages for teachers. Direct More of Every Education Dollar into the Classroom An increasing share of educational spending has gone toward administration, smaller class size and special education needs. The administrative cost ratio presently used to limit the proportion of education dollars spent on administration misleads the informed voter.