Mineola School Trustees announced where they stand on the school voucher program state lawmakers are attempting to pass.

The board approved a resolution Monday opposing vouchers.

Superintendent Cody Mize pointed to several reasons to oppose vouchers, including the lack of transparency and accountability for public funds given to private institutions.

He added that private schools a community might support today could look very different years down the road.

“Public dollars should be left in public schools,” he said.

The state senate has approved a voucher plan and sent it to the house of representatives, which did not support the initiative during the regular legislative session in the spring.

The legislature did not address teacher pay during the regular session, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he would allow that to be considered once a voucher program is approved.

Mize pointed to a statistic that said in 2019 a teacher could afford 30 of 100 homes for sale within commuting distance, and in 2023 that figure dropped to 12 homes.

Mize called for the legislature to support teachers and kids.

“The state of Texas depends on it,” he said.

The resolution sates, “Mineola ISD Board of Trustees calls on Texas Legislators to fund public schools at the national average as a minimum standard.”

One thing the legislature did do was use surplus funds to help lower school property tax bills. He said the district tax office had fielded calls since those bills went out last week.

Some $18 billion was used to lower school property tax rates. In Mineola that dropped from 94 cents last year to 75 cents per $100 valuation this year.

The bills were also calculated assuming that the increase in the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 will be approved by voters on Nov. 7.

In other business the board approved a bid for $37,509 for a vehicle or the food service department, to be purchased with federal funds.

They accepted a donation of $48,864 from the Mineola Hay Show for the purchase of a skid steer for the ag department.

The board asked for more bids for a one-ton dual-wheel pickup for the ag department. Only one of the four bids received was for a dually.

Mize reported that construction on the new primary school is progressing well. He said that the district saved $300,000 on fill dirt for the structure because it was found on the campus site.

The district has begun looking at floor plans for the career and technology center to be constructed in the current elementary campus, the second phase of the school bond voters approved in 2022.