Public commenter urges board to oppose SB 13, highlights school funding concerns and 'Wait Until 8 pledge

DENTON, Texas ' During the meeting's public-comment period, speaker Rebecca Bertone urged Denton ISD trustees to oppose Senate Bill 13 and called for full funding of public schools, citing a Dallas Morning News Education Lab column and local parental action on student cell-phone use.

Bertone told the board she shared three news items, including a Dallas Morning News Education Lab article about five years of declining school funding and the closing of a Plano school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. "If he truly cared about Texas students, he would fully fund our public schools now by increasing the basic allotment without strings attached," she said, quoting from the column and referencing concerns about Governor Abbott's funding approach.

Bertone also addressed SB 13, the bill authored in part by Senator Angela Paxton and on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's list of priorities, saying it would remove local librarians' sole authority over some school book-selection decisions and shift certain responsibilities to school boards and a local advisory council. She urged community members to contact state representatives Hayes, Hopper and Little to oppose the bill.

Finally, Bertone noted the local "Wait Until 8" pledge: she said about 25% of parents at Blanton Elementary had signed a pledge to delay giving their children cell phones until at least the end of eighth grade to reduce social-media pressure on younger children.

Ending

Bertone offered copies of the articles to board members and suggested trustees and community members contact state legislators; the transcript records her comments under the meeting's second open forum.