SD 19 Candidate Forum Focuses on Public Education

February 3, 2020 - San Antonio

Article By: Jade Esteban Estrada - Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel

On January 30, the three candidates running in the Democratic primary for Texas Senate District 19 participated in the For the Future candidate forum at Texas A&M-San Antonio. Organized by Raise Your Hand Texas, this series of over 40 statewide forums and town halls are focused solely on the topic of public education.

The panelists, all of whom are lawyers, were Freddy Ramirez, Texas State Representative (D-119) Roland Gutierrez and Xochil Peña Rodriguez. A few days earlier, there were actually four Democrats in the upcoming primary election. On January 27, Belinda Shvetz was disqualified from the race after a civil district judge granted a request to remove her name from the ballot over claims that she didn’t live in SD 19. 

Incumbent Texas State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) was not present for the panel discussion.

During their three-minute introductions, the state Senate challengers shared their own experiences of going through the Texas education system. Four groups of education-related questions were then asked by moderator Ernie Zuniga, a local news anchor. The opening round dealt with school finance. 

“What was [House Bill 3’s] single greatest accomplishment?” Zuniga asked of the historic school finance bill that some lawmakers say may not be sustainable. He added that Texas ranks 43rd among the states in per-student spending for public schools. “Would you support additional investment in public schools? How would you make that investment sustainable?”

Ramirez said that he would like to see more funding for public schools and added that our per-student spending is about $3,000 less than the national average. All the candidates agreed that cutting back on various kinds of tax exemptions would be a good long-term plan to increase revenue.

Peña Rodriguez’s immediate family benefited from HB 3. Her husband, who is a public school teacher, received a bump in pay. Ramirez’s wife is also an educator.

Gutierrez believes that legalizing cannabis will generate $3.6 billion in tax revenue. He said this is money that would be needed to pay for the cost of public education. “There are 34 states that have legalized cannabis in the United States,” he said. “[Texas is] not one of them.” 

The second question asked the candidates to share their views on the effects of state testing and accountability, now that they have had the chance to block walk, receive community feedback and visit some of the schools in the district.

“I do believe we are testing our children to death,” Ramirez responded. “We are testing the creativity out of our kids.” Gutierrez suggested testing students at the beginning of the year so that teachers would be able to pinpoint academic strengths, while Peña Rodriguez said that underserved communities have less access to preparatory resources which gives districts on the city’s North Side an unfair advantage.

When Zuniga asked where each of them stood on the use of public funds to support vouchers or similar programs for private schools, the candidates unanimously gave the idea a thumbs down.

“It’s astounding to me that we have two parallel systems of education, public and charter,” said Gutierrez, who is a five-term member of the Texas House. “We have allowed charters to go out and operate under an entirely different parallel universe.” He added that the voucher program has “really torn away at our public school system.”

“We’re all going to agree on this one,” said Peña Rodriguez. “Obviously, we need a system that works for everyone. Charters are not accountable in the same way [that public schools are]. They don’t have to provide free lunch. They don’t have to provide transportation.”

The fourth and final topic discussed was Texas’ teacher workforce. “What can the State do to make teaching a more attractive option for young people?” Zuniga asked. 

“It’s not just attracting new people but [it’s also about] being able to retain the teachers that are there,” explained Peña Rodriguez. 

All the candidates agreed on student loan debt forgiveness and better incentives for people going into the teaching field. Gutierrez added that teachers who work in Title 1 schools and challenged areas should be considered for expanded benefits.

A handful of submitted questions came from both the audience and from constituents who were live streaming from Ozona, Texas. The questions brought to light the different needs of urban-based schools in comparison to the needs in more rural areas like Crockett County.

Overall, the forum was an opportunity for residents of SD 19 to hear directly from Ramirez, Gutierrez and Peña Rodriguez before one of them wins the Democratic golden egg.

There were some familiar faces in the audience: Rosalinda “Rosey” Ramos Abuabara, candidate for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District; Mary Angie Garcia, Bexar County District Clerk; former San Antonio City Councilwoman Jennifer Ramos, who is currently running for Gutierrez’s House seat; and former San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldaña, who joined Raise Your Hand Texas as the South Texas regional advocacy director in June 2019. He was the on-the-ground organizer of the event, which was streamed live on Facebook.

The Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation hopes that these forums will help voters better understand the issues surrounding public education. There are two remaining For the Future forums for the San Antonio area. The next event will take place on February 11 for the candidates of House District 119 and February 13 for the candidates of House District 121.

It’s worth mentioning that The League of Women Voters was also on-site making sure attendees of the event were registered to vote.

Early voting is February 18-28. Primary Election Day is March 3. 

Jade Esteban Estrada covers politics for the San Antonio Sentinel. Email him at jade@sasentinel.com.