Today TCC Director of Education Margaret McGettrick provided testimony to the Senate Finance committee on the TCC's Education concerns in Senate Bill 1, the General Appropriations Bill, and specifically, Article III, which covers Education. You may read her testimony below.  You may also read our policy paper on the revenue shortfall here, and you can also view a video resource on the budget here. 

Texas Catholic Conference Article III Budget Testimony

Protect and support increased access to Public and Private Pre-Kindergarten programs, support expansion of the school breakfast program to include state subsidies for universal free breakfast program offered by the USDA

Margaret McGettrick, Director of Education, Testifying on behalf of the Texas Catholic Conference and the fifteen active Roman Catholic Bishops of Texas

Mr. Chairman and members, thank you for the opportunity to share our concerns about the state budget. The Texas Catholic Conference supports a balanced approach to solving the revenue shortfall but we feel that it should not come at the expense of the public school children of Texas.

Bishop James Tamayo, from the Diocese of Laredo, has said that “Many Texas children begin school far behind their more affluent peers because they do not have the same access to the high-quality learning experiences.  This achievement gap starts before children enter school and only grows wider. We must make high-quality pre-k programs available to provide all Texas children an equal opportunity to succeed in school and life”.[1]

In this critical time when the legislature is faced with the difficult task of balancing the budget, it is important to think of our long term investments instead of simply, a quick fix. Investment in our young children’s development can yield a high public return. In fact, the return on this investment has been described as “extraordinary, resulting in better working public schools, more educated workers and less crime”. According to some estimates, the national cost of failing to provide at least two years of early childhood education totals $100,000 for each child born into poverty in the United States- a cost of roughly $400 billion for all poor children currently under the age of five. These estimates of “national cost”, which are already a grim reality in Texas, relate to the individual and social consequences of children left behind in the educational system. [Studies that] provide insight into how the benefits of early childhood education play out over the life course….estimate that for every dollar spent on early childhood education and development programs, $7 to $8 are returned to individuals and society that include higher individual incomes for participants, increased tax revenues, reduced school expenditures (due to reduced grade retention and special education) as well as reduced criminal justice expenditures. Investments made during this legislative session in this area could produce an enormous return in future revenues.

It is estimated that one out of every four children in Texas is at risk for hunger.  Studies have shown that students who eat breakfast benefit nutritionally and educationally. Studies have shown that eating breakfast results in increased math and reading scores, fewer visits to the nurse, improved classroom behavior and improved attentiveness.  Every Texas student, in keeping with their innate human dignity, deserves access to programs that maximize their ability to learn in school and maintain good health.[2]

Before considering reductions or lack of expansion in these areas we call upon the Legislature to:

• Use all of the Rainy Day Fund;
• Maximize use of available federal funding, without extending funding for immoral medical procedures or research.
• Create new sources of revenue that are equitable and would benefit the children in Texas

Further, the Texas Catholic Conference opposes the expansion of gambling to generate new revenue as gambling taxes are unreliable and regressive, often harming the most vulnerable in our community.

Download a PDF of this testimony here.