Midway ISD superintendent warns finance bill's narrow pay increase could force program cuts

Chris Allen, superintendent of Midway Independent School District, said Wednesday that a draft Senate committee substitute for House Bill 2 — the state public school finance bill — contains large, targeted investments but increases the basic allotment by only $55, a change he said would be insufficient to prevent local cuts.

"They're contemplating teacher compensation that would increase our teacher pay, but they're defining teachers as classroom teachers only," Allen said, arguing that bus drivers, nurses, librarians and teacher aides would be left out of the pay increases. He warned the bill "puts money into everything except for the things that matter to your children the most."

Allen acknowledged the bill includes substantial sums for areas such as teacher preparation, special education, early learning and career-and-technical education, and he praised the special-education allocation as important. He also said the bill contains roughly $500,000,000 for a safety allotment and cited what he described as about $1,300,000,000 toward special education; he said these targeted dollars are real but spread thin statewide when divided across more than 1,000 districts and about 5,500,000 students.

"Here's the part I want to draw your attention to," Allen said. "This Senate committee substitute for House Bill 2 ... only increases the basic allotment by $55. To put that in perspective for you, that's a little bit like your house being on fire. The fire department showing up with a 12 ounce cup of water." He said the $55 increase would provide money to about 40% or less of district staff and would not cover routine operating costs paid from the basic allotment — such as bus fuel, property and casualty insurance, fine arts and athletics.

Allen warned that if the bill passes as written, Midway ISD could face a budget deficit that would "absolutely cause significant personnel reductions, and those significant personnel reductions will lead to program cuts." He added that while some provisions would do good, other elements appear structured to prioritize politically salient pay increases over sustaining everyday services.

He urged immediate outreach to state officials, saying a vote was anticipated on Thursday. "If you care about this, you gotta call somebody and I mean today," Allen said, listing Senator Brian Birdwell, Senator (chair of the Senate K-16 committee) Crichton, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott as officials constituents should contact.

Allen encouraged constituents to verify details with other superintendents and school leaders rather than taking his word alone and said Midway ISD would continue to press for funding that preserves both teacher pay and essential services. "We're going to fight for your kids every day," he said.

The superintendent did not present a formal motion or vote in these remarks; he characterized the session as a public appeal and advocacy request ahead of a likely legislative vote.