During public comment at the March 18 regular meeting, parent Jason Montgomery urged the Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees to oppose House Bill 3, a voucher proposal being debated in the Texas Legislature, and to publicly defend public education.

“House bill 3, the school voucher bill is currently being debated by our legislature, and its consequences could be devastating for our schools, our teachers, and most importantly, our children,” Jason Montgomery said. He told trustees the bill would divert taxpayer dollars into education savings accounts for private school tuition and other costs and argued that other states’ experiences show vouchers can leave public schools underfunded.

Montgomery also raised concerns about potential impacts on the Teacher Retirement System (TRS), referencing the transcript’s account that TRS leadership had expressed concern about voucher proposals’ effects on the pension fund. He urged trustees to “take a firm stand against these vouchers” and to speak clearly for public schools ahead of upcoming board elections.

Board policy prohibits the board from taking votes in response to public comments at the same meeting; trustees did not take formal action in response to the comment at the March 18 meeting. The board took no vote on a formal statement about the bill during the meeting.

The comment is part of the public record and was delivered in the allotted public comment period.