Eddie Morales, Jr.

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Survey Responses

RESPONSES TO THE 2024 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

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

Above all, it's imperative that we raise the basic allotment to meet national standards. Nearly 3/4 of teachers are considering leaving their profession -- we must raise the wages of our educators. Beyond the basic allotment, I believe the State should increase its share of public education to reduce the burden on local districts.

2. Voucher programs take many forms (tax credits, scholarships, education savings accounts, etc.) and are either universal or aimed at specific subpopulations (special education students, low-income students, students attending schools with poor A-F accountability ratings, etc.). Would you vote to create a voucher program of any type to pay for students to attend non-public K-12 schools, such as private or home schools?

No. Public dollars belong in our public schools. I will oppose vouchers at every turn.

3. In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 3 requiring a number of new school safety measures. However, many believe the Legislature did not adequately increase funding to cover the cost of the mandates in HB 3 or other locally adopted school safety measures. How would you work to make schools safer and ensure such initiatives are properly funded?

I supported HB 3, but there is still much more we can do. Parents and families should not have to fear for their student's safety in our public schools. Beyond just increasing funding for school safety, we need to have common sense gun-safety laws that would have prevented the heinous and callous acts of evil we continue to witness. This includes raising the age to 21 to buy a semi-automatic rifle, background checks, and red flag laws.

4. Despite a record-breaking surplus of $38 billion during the 2023 legislative session, school funding formulas were not increased to keep pace with inflation since they were last adjusted in 2019. Do you believe Texas public schools should receive additional funding? If so, how should the state pay for it?

Absolutely, our public schools have been systematically defunded over the course of decades. We should utilize these dollars to increase the basic allotment and increase teacher pay. These are critical things the state can do, but we must reject the billion-dollar voucher initiative to ensure our public schools get the funds they deserve.

5. Texas has faced growing teacher shortages in recent years, with many schools hiring uncertified teachers to fill the gaps. How would you work to ensure Texas public schools have an adequate number of trained and certified teachers?

We do not need task forces and committees to study this problem. Teachers need a salary increase. I will continue to fight for that to attract and retain more teachers.

6. Inadequate compensation hampers the recruitment and retention of high-quality educators. Do you support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators?

Yes.

7. The high cost of health insurance available to educators is a significant factor decreasing their take-home pay. How would you address the challenge of rising health care costs facing Texas educators and ensure access to affordable health care?

Healthcare access and affordability is a pressing problem for all Texans. Texas must expand Medicaid to reduce our state's risk pool and drive down costs, but also ensure our rural hospitals and clinics remain open for the countless educators in our rural communities. This, in conjunction with increasing teacher pay, I believe, would go a long way to reducing costs and expanding access for our teachers to get the care they need.

8. What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in the Texas public education system? For instance, should student test scores be used as a metric in determining teacher pay, school accountability ratings, evaluating teachers, measuring student progress, etc.?

Standardized testing should not be held to any funding formula. They should provide metrics on student success and be utilized as a tool for policy decisions, not funding.

9. In your opinion, what is the proper balance between accommodating an individual parent’s or student’s wishes and the taxpaying community’s interest in directing and maintaining an optimal educational environment for the student population as a whole?

Parents have the option to send their child to private school, public charter, or homeschool. That is their right. But public education is the only form of education that should be subsidized by the state (including public charter schools).

10. Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined-benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or do you support converting TRS to a defined-contribution structure that is more like a 401(k) plan, in which future benefits are not guaranteed?

TRS should maintain as a traidtional defined-benefit pension plan.

11. State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily choose to join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose letting all public employees continue to exercise this right?

Yes, I support the right of workers, including public employees, to voluntarily join organizations/associations such as ATPE.
 

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Did not respond to the 2022 or 2020 ATPE Candidate Survey.