2023 Legislative Priorities

88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

Increase Student Investment

• Wimberley ISD supports increasing the Basic Allotment per-pupil funding in Texas up to the national average and creating a funding mechanism that would adjust per-pupil funding annually to account for inflation. 
• Wimberley ISD supports the use of enrollment vs. average daily attendance as the figure used to calculate school funding.
• Wimberley ISD supports additional funding for special education.

Enhance Mental Health and Safety

• Wimberley ISD supports increased state funding of proactive mental health services to improve the physical, psychological and cyber well-being of students and staff.
• Wimberley ISD supports local discretion related to any additional school safety related funding.

Reduce Recapture

• Wimberley ISD supports reforming Chapter 49 of the Texas Education Code ("Robin Hood") to increase the state's funding for all school districts and reduce reliance on local recapture funding.
• Wimberley ISD supports requiring that all recapture dollars paid by local school districts be spent on public education, ending the state's current practice of supplanting its investment in education with recapture dollars.

Support Local Decision Making

• Wimberley ISD supports the establishment of a comprehensive accountability system that looks beyond high­stakes, multiple-choice exams to meaningful assessments that have value for students, parents and teachers, as well as flexible measures that local communities value.
• Wimberley ISD supports increased local discretion in instructional planning and the repeal of the accelerated learning committee requirements created by House Bill 4545 during the 87'" legislative session.
• Wimberley ISD supports revisions to the current required bond and tax rate election ballot language to ensure information is clear, transparent and understandable for voters.
• Wimberley ISD supports the preservation of the right for public school districts and school boards to associate and collaborate with each other to communicate the needs of their students and schools with lawmakers, both directly and through representative organizations.

Teacher Retention & Staffing Shortages

• Wimberley ISD supports efforts to provide teacher housing allotments based on a sliding scale of the cost of housing in a district, earmarked as a supplement to teacher compensation.
• Wimberley ISD supports the continuation of the current Teacher Retirement System (TRS) defined benefit pension program advocates for an annual cost-of-living adjustment for all retirees.
• Wimberley ISD supports increased state funding to offset increased healthcare costs associated with the TRS­ Active-Care and TRS-Care health insurance programs.

On December 12, 2022, the Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees formally approved the governmental body's support and advocacy of the legislative priorities.