If you don't like the budget cuts at your child's school — tough! It's your school's fault. That's the message Governor Greg Abbott had for Texans as he addressed state education finances and said it is not up to him or the state to fix it.  Instead, he cited it as school districts' "consequence" for how they've handled their budgets as federal pandemic relief funds expire. 

In an interview on Thursday on Lubbock-based radio station KYFO, host Chad Hasty asked the governor what his message was to concerned parents from Houston-area school district Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, who blamed Abbott for their district's $138 million deficit. Cy-Fair is the third largest school district in the state and is just one of many tackling financial woes expected in the 2024-2025 academic school year. 

"You'll be shocked to hear this, but it's not me that's responsible for this," Abbott said. "Almost every school district in the state of Texas, as well as across the United States, is facing that very same problem for reasons completely unrelated to the state of Texas. The reason why they have a budget shortfall is because, the last couple of budgets they had, they had an incredible amount of money given to them by the federal government in the post-COVID years."

Citing Texas' $19 million in ESSER funding, Abbott continued saying some campuses were more "responsible" on budgeting decisions than others. 

"The federal government just sent a boatload of money to our schools, and that increased their budgets dramatically," Abbott said. "Some schools were responsible in their budgeting to make sure that would not happen; others not so much. Some school districts, for example, took that money and hired additional people, and now they do not have that money coming into them from the federal government, and as a result, they have to lay off those people, and that's a consequence of spending the money that way." 

Abbott's comments come as several Texas school districts, including the state's largest system, Houston ISD, and other large districts, including Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Spring Branch ISD, face massive layoffs and cuts across personnel.

Last week, Houston ISD cut its janitorial staff to make up a $450 million shortfall, alerting employees that they could reapply on a contract basis but wouldn't be eligible for benefits. And they laid off more than 100 district employees who work with students dealing with poverty-related issues. Cy-Fair ISD recently slashed hundreds of positions, including librarians. Spring Branch ISD eliminated 215 positions in February because of its $35 million deficit.

The Texas Legislature failed to pass a massive education bill in the 2023 legislative session that would have boosted spending in public schools. The multi-billion dollar bill aimed to increase per-pupil spending and bonuses to staff, including teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians. The bill expired after Texas House members removed Abbott's school voucher program proposal from the legislation. Texas officials reported a record $32 billion surplus in the state's bank account last year.

In light of the financial woes, Texas state representatives on both political sides have sounded the alarm, asking Abbott and other Texas leaders to take action. On Monday, Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston) and other Democratic House members signed a letter urging Abbott to call a special session to address school districts' finances immediately.  

"Our public schools are the bedrock of our communities, and it's imperative we provide them with the resources they need to thrive," Rosenthal said. "By calling for a special session, Governor Abbott has the opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to fulfilling our constitutional duty to adequately fund public education in Texas." 

Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) and other state leaders also sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency earlier this month requesting them to use the state budget surplus dollars to help Cy-Fair ISD, which has a local homestead exemption. "It is the Legislature's intention that school districts that cut property taxes be encouraged to do so by replacing the lost revenue with state funding," Oliverson said.

"We encourage TEA to communicate the solution and decision-making process to ISDs expediently as budget decisions are being made for next school year now," Oliverson said.