Mink Jawandor

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Survey Responses

RESPONSES TO THE 2026 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1. If elected, what are your top priorities for Texas public education?

Please describe any specific goals or legislative initiatives you would pursue to strengthen the state’s public education system.

As an educator myself, I know that teaching contributes to all works of life in our society. Teachers' pay is a priority to me, as I am an educator who understands the circumstances of teachers. My policies on education will work to bring in additional funds, where struggling teachers in our community will succeed excellently with additional state funding.

Teachers are the primary caretakers of the young generation in Alief, so they deserve the Funds, Safety, and Security. I will make our schools a safe zone for children in our community, as they spend more time in school than they spend at home during the semester.

2. Public Education Funding:

The 89th Legislature passed an $8 billion school funding bill, HB 2. However, despite years of unanswered “inflationary challenges, a large majority of that funding was earmarked to specific programs and did not supply districts with significant flexible funding, leaving the majority of Texas students in districts with deficit budgets and other significant funding challenges. Do you believe Texas public schools should receive additional funding? If so, how should the state pay for it, and should that funding be earmarked at the state level or provide districts with flexible dollars?

As an educator, yes, I strongly believe Texas schools should receive additional funding, which will aid teacher retention, help with current economic inflation, and school operational costs. The state has to make teacher funding increase a top priority in their tax list as they allocate funds, and the state should pay for it through state general revenue taxes

3. ESA Vouchers:

Education savings accounts (ESAs) redirect public funds to private or home schools. How do you believe Texas should fund public schools, traditional and charter, alongside ESA vouchers? How should ESA spending be held accountable to taxpayers?

ESA spending should be held accountable to taxpayers through an audit of their work per quarter to give the public access by providing details of the direct school funding activity, especially to parents in the community. This will empower parental oversight

4. Teacher Recruitment and Retention:

Under HB 2, passed in 2025, all educators in core content courses (math, English, science, and social studies) must be certified by 2030. While this is a good start, more can and should be done to ensure high-quality teachers continue to enter the classroom. What are your suggestions to improve the quality of the new teacher pipeline?

My suggestions to improve the quality of the new teacher pipeline are to improve the recruiting programs and certification standards because must individuals who are interested in teaching do not understand the recruiting process. With my experience, I will increase programs with community colleges for students to have access to the field of teaching and increase retention fees, and entry salaries, also push to match the national salary average

5. Educator Pay and Benefits:

The 89th Legislature passed legislation creating a new mechanism to provide only classroom teachers with tiered raises based on early years of service and their district’s student enrollment. While the raises were significant, they did not apply to all campus educators, and the program created a significant negative funding stream at the district level due to unfunded increased costs for non-salary compensation tied to payroll, such as TRS retirement contributions. Do you support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators? How would you ensure that compensation keeps pace with inflation and remains competitive with other professions?

Teaching contributes to all aspects of life, no matter where you find yourself, so I strongly support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators because it will create an equal state of balance. Individuals leave the teaching profession simply because they feel like they are underpaid compared to other professions. Before I filed for my candidacy, I was, and I am still, a big advocate for teacher salaries, and teachers' salary is part of my policy that I am ready to push forward

6. Educator Health Care:

The high cost of health insurance for active and retired educators continues to reduce take-home pay, with educators shouldering the vast majority of their ever-increasing heath care costs. How would you address the affordability and sustainability of educator health care, particularly the TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care programs?

I sometimes teach without insurance, So I understand the risk for educators not having healthcare coverage along with their family. I will push legislation that will increase funding especially for TRS-Care program because most teachers come back from retirement to teach because they can't afford to pay for their healthcare from their retirement funds.

7. Retirement Security:

Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) should remain a defined-benefit pension plan for all current and future members? If not, what is your plan to provide a secure retirement for Texas educators, particularly considering that state law has been set up such that most districts do not participate in Social Security?

It takes a special type of person to be a teacher. So, yes, I believe the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) should remain a defined-benefit pension plan for all current and future members

8. Accountability and Assessment Reform:

The Legislature has passed a new “through-year” multi-test model under HB 8. What role should standardized testing play in evaluating students, teachers, and schools? Should test results continue to determine A–F accountability ratings or teacher pay?

Standardized testing is important and it good way for accountability for students, teachers, and schools but is not the only way to rate education.

9. Parental Rights and Community Voice:

Recent legislative debates have focused on “parental rights” in education. In your view, what is the appropriate balance between accommodating the often conflicting wishes of individual parents while maintaining policies that reflect the broader community’s educational priorities and still providing consistency and an appropriate level of professional deference to educators?

Raising kids begins and ends at home, so parent has to play their part in supporting the teachers. Parent and teacher communication is a key part of students' educational success, and teachers' work is guided by state policy, outcomes, and can be held accountable. The appropriate balance is consistency in communication that meets policy standards between the teachers and parents.

10. School Safety:

HB 3 (2023) imposed new school safety requirements but did not fully fund them. Although the 89th Legislature increased the School Safety Allotment, many districts continue to face substantial unfunded staffing and facility costs associated with school safety laws. How would you make schools safer and ensure the state provides adequate funding to meet safety mandates?

My wife works in education as well, and she is in special needs as a paraprofessional, her biggest stress in the job is, lack of staff, and she has to be move around to different classrooms frequently during the day because people are quitting from their positions because of poor compensation. Therefore, I will passionately push for state funding for school security and pay

11. Curriculum and Local Control:

What do you believe is the proper role of the State Board of Education, the Texas Education Agency, and local school districts in setting curriculum standards and selecting instructional materials?

Yes, I believe, it is the proper role of the State Board of Education, the Texas Education Agency, and local school districts to set curriculum standards and select instructional materials because they are the primary caretakers of the education system in the state, and they are the ones who are responsible for the state educational outcome of their students.

12. Educator Rights and Professional Associations:

State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose allowing public employees to continue exercising this right? Why or why not?

Yes, I support other public employees to join professional associations such as ATPE voluntarily and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers because it helps build a coalition with other organizations that will support organizations like this one.