I’m a constituent and advocate for putting our public schools first. I know you share that value of public education. That’s why I’m writing. This recession is going to put you in a tough position with the state budget soon. I want you to know we support you in fighting hard to protect school funding and HB 3. After the last recession, the Legislature hit a fiscal cliff because of how federal assistance was spent early on. This resulted in schools getting the short end of the stick. Those budget cuts hurt our schools. Please help make sure the state doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Our public schools are already taking a financial hit from this pandemic. When our children return to school teachers and staff will have a lot of work to do to help everyone recover from these events academically and emotionally. HB 3 was historic, and it funded the kinds of priorities we need now more than ever: • Money in classrooms to help our students learn and achieve more • Pay increases and programs to make sure we keep great teachers, librarians, nurses, and counselors • Professional development funding to develop the teachers our kids deserve • Educator retirement program improvements Plus, increasing the state’s share of school funding lowered property taxes! Protecting HB 3 protects our teachers and students who will drive the Texas economy of tomorrow. We can’t shortchange them now. Please commit now to protecting public school funding, our kids, and Texas’s future.

I live in your district and I’m a strong advocate of our public schools here. That’s why I’m writing you. I’m aware this recession will put you in a tough position with the state budget soon, so I wanted to encourage you to make protecting public school funding and HB 3 a top priority. The Legislature made deep cuts to education during the last recession after federal bailout money ended and the state came to the fiscal cliff. Those cuts hurt our schools. We can’t go down that road again. Our public schools are being hit hard financially by this pandemic, and once we all return to normal, schools will have so much more work to do to keep students on track. HB 3 was historic. It did so much good for our schools, our teachers, and our kids: • Put money back into classrooms to help our students achieve more • Funded pay increases for teachers, librarians, nurses, and counselors • Increased professional development funding for teachers • Shored up retirement programs for these essential workers for our kids And on top of all that, you increased the state share of school funding to help to lower property taxes! Protecting the legacy of HB 3 protects our teachers and students in this tough time. I know the recession and economy are a concern, but our schools create the workforce of tomorrow that will run Texas economy. We can’t shortchange them now. Please commit now to protecting public school funding, our kids, and Texas’s future.