Doggett Amendment Punishes & Targets Texas Schools
By Ken Mercer State Board of Education Member for District 5
Texas Insider Report: SAN ANTONIO Texas This week U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) authored a provision to legislation that I believe will result in $21 million of massive cuts for schools in my district. The Doggett amendment for school funding purposely targets only one state Texas. Doggett & the other Congressional Democrats voted for this amendment to H.R. 1586.
Congressman Michael McCaul (R - Texas) immediately responded to the Doggett amendment:
This bill will also hurt education funding in Texas as a result of an amendment offered by Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin.
It singles out Texas requiring our State Legislature to maintain or grow its current level of education funding for the next three years or forfeit $800 million in federal funding. This federal mandate would force the State of Texas to violate its own Constitution.
In a separate release Texas Governor Rick Perry shared this statement:
Despite Texas public school success Lloyd Doggett and the misguided congressional majority are putting Texas in the position of violating our state
constitution to receive additional federal funding for Texas students.
I asked the Texas Education Agency (TEA) if the Doggett Amendment will hurt any of the independent school districts in my twelve counties.
For example using the normal state formula Hays CISD in Kyle Texas should have received $2.55 million.
However because of the Doggett amendment instead of receiving $2.55 million Hays CISD will receive only $548K - a loss of $2.0 million! Texas is the only state that has been targeted by the Doggett amendment.
According to the TEAs numbers the Doggett amendment will take away over $21.0 million from the following schools in my district:
School District Impact of Doggett Amendment
- BELTON ISD -$738391
- BLANCO ISD -$91543
- BOERNE ISD -$799364
- BURNET CISD -$321146
- COMAL ISD -$1903777
- COMFORT ISD -$45347
- COPPERAS COVE ISD -$558374
- DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD -$534458
- FREDERICKSBURG ISD -$207908
- HARPER ISD -$88597
- HAYS CISD -$2002406
- JUDSON ISD -$1509038
- LAMPASAS ISD -$180094
- LLANO ISD -$107039
- LOCKHART ISD -$87584
- LULING ISD -$6731
- MARBLE FALLS ISD -$268954
- NEW BRAUNFELS ISD -$567014
- NORTH EAST ISD -$3567677
- NORTHSIDE ISD -$4908313
- RANDOLPH FIELD ISD -$167853
- SALADO ISD -$179726
- SAN MARCOS CISD -$234779
- SCHERTZ-CIBOLO-U CITY ISD -$1661815
- SEGUIN ISD -$63546
- WIMBERLEY ISD -$241400
