By Stacey Swann

When we cast our votes in the coming election, a lot depends on our Texas House races. For decades, rural Republicans stood firm against repeated attempts to pass school voucher plans that would funnel Texas taxpayer funds to private schools. They knew those plans would strangle the budgets of our public schools. In rural Texas, public schools are the very heart of our communities. We come together to celebrate our kids in football stadiums and gymnasiums and auditoriums across the state. Beyond that, public schools are often our town’s largest employers. And so those Representatives defended them, tooth and nail.

But now, a combination of money and arm-twisting influence has convinced our Governor that he must pass private school vouchers. He has used out-of-state funds, and lies about their records on border votes, to oust those brave rural Republicans. He has cowed five other former fighters, including our own incumbent David Spiller, into changing their votes in the last special session. This sad turn of events means I must ask all Republican voters to do something very hard. Something you have likely never done before. I’m asking you to vote for a Democrat.

As the only candidate for House District 68 that will vote against school vouchers, I need your help. Democracy is still alive and well. Our votes are messages to our leaders, and there is no message that would be clearer, that would be more powerful, than a ruby-red Texas district, composed of at least 80% Republicans, electing a Democrat to office. Those in power would know the vote was entirely due to our love for our public schools. They would know that, going forward, they cannot take rural conservative communities for granted.

I understand why some might hesitate. Education, while of vital importance, is not the only issue of the day. I promise, if elected, that I will focus all my energy on public education and issues that have the support of the majority of my constituents. We have no shortage of those bipartisan issues: water infrastructure, rural health care, inflation and the affordability crisis, just to name a few. However, my main focus will always be to stop vouchers and increase public schools funding. Our schools have been chronically underfunded for a long time, and conditions have become dire in the past few years. Ask any ISD Superintendent or School Board member, any principal or teacher, and they will tell you how much harder their jobs are simply due to a reduction of funds.

Those pushing vouchers (or Educational Savings Accounts, as they have been rebranded) would like you to believe that they won’t hurt public school funding, but the results of a similar plan in Arizona have shown us otherwise. They want us to vote for “parental choice.” But I believe, in my heart, that the vast majority of rural Texans would always choose their public school system if that system had the funding it needed to do its job well. And, more importantly, for most children in District 68, public school is literally their only choice.

I am a product of an excellent rural public school system, Sealy ISD, and it helped me achieve career success as a writer. I cannot abide the thought that today’s rural students won’t have the same opportunities. If you elect me to the Texas House, you will have struck a victory for not just your community but for all of rural Texas. In turn, I won’t just fight hard for you; I will fight tooth and nail.

*Paid for and approved by Stacey Swann for House District 68