Will Metcalf

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Survey Responses

HAS NOT RESPONDED TO THE 2026 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY.
 

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DID NOT RESPOND TO THE 2024 CANDIDATE SURVEY.

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Not applicable for 2022; the candidate is unopposed.

Did not respond to the 2018 ATPE Candidate Survey. 

Below are the candidate's responses to the 2014 ATPE Candidate Survey:

1. Is there a need to increase funding to meet the needs of our student population? If so, how would you recommend securing more revenue for public education?

Texas does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. We need to take a harder look at how funds are being spent, because clearly the dollars are not getting to our children and teachers appropriately.

 

2. Regardless of the level of funding, do you believe that Texas public education dollars are being spent in an appropriate manner, or should the funds be reallocated and spent in different ways?

As I said before, absolutely. I have lived this firsthand when my wife and I had to buy school supplies for her classroom. Fixing this will be one of my top priorities when I am elected.

 

3. Would you vote to spend public tax dollars on a voucher, tax credit or scholarship that allows students to attend non-public schools in grades K–12? Why or why not?

I think before we answer this question, we need to look tougher questions. Such as why our school system is failing in the first place. Vouchers are simply a way to live with the problem, they are not a solution to the problem. I'm not going to Austin to make life more comfortable, I'm going to improve it.

 

4. 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 would you vote to convert TRS to a defined contribution plan that is more like a 401(k), in which future benefits are not guaranteed? Why?

No, I believe it needs to be a defined contribution model from this point forward for new hires. I know that's not what teachers want to hear, it's not what my wife wants to hear, but I have looked into this issue and believe it is what needs to be done in order to avoid breaking the bank.

 

5. Local decisions on whether to continue a teacher's employment and how much to pay each teacher are often based on evaluations. To what extent, if any, should a teacher's evaluation be based on his students' scores on state standardized tests? If you believe student test scores should factor into a teacher's evaluation, how would you recommend evaluating teachers in grades or subjects for which there are no state standardized tests?

A little as possible. I don't think it is fair to base a teacher's evaluation/pay on the performance of a student when performance can vary greatly due to circumstances outside of the teacher's control; such as what frame of mind the student is in when they're taking a test, how good of a nights sleep the student had, and any other number of things. That said, we need to come up with some equitable evaluation not just to find teachers who potentially are not meeting the standard our children deserve, but also to reward the many that are surpassing the standard.

 

6. Would you vote to maintain a hard cap on the number of students per class, or should school administrators be given more flexibility to increase class sizes? (Currently, the law imposes a cap of 22:1 in grades K–4 but allows schools to obtain a waiver, a step many of them routinely take.)

I'd like to discuss this topic with you among other educators I entrust before I take a stance on this issue. On one hand, class size directly impacts the quality of our children's education and it is a danger I am very much concerned about. On the other, it essentially functions as an unfunded mandate that forces our school districts to spend more to keep up with a growing population and a shrinking budget.

 

7. If a public school in your district failed to meet state accountability standards for two or more consecutive years, would you support allowing a private entity to take over the management of that school, essentially converting it to a charter school?

No, that means that we are failing our children, and the responsibility lays on us to fix it.

 

8. Do you believe charter schools in Texas have been largely successful? Should their presence be expanded? Why or why not?

I believe that charter schools success has been a result of an imbalance of regulations and burdens compared to their public counter parts. I think that if we give more local control and lift burdens that are holding our schools back, our public schools can perform as well or better. I don't believe in expanding their role because as I said before, it is finding a way to live with the problem and not fix it. Every breath we spend debating it is one we are not using to fix the problem.