My Wish List for Texas’ Next Education Commissioner

With the recent political shift of leadership in my home state of Texas, there are a lot of questions around what priorities the governor and lieutenant governor should tackle first. I know both Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin have shared many times on the election trail that they are champions of public education. Governor-elect Hinojosa even said recently that she will fire the current TEA commissioner Mike Morath on day 1 (assuming he doesn’t quit first). This post is less about the politics around selecting the new commissioner (though I know it’s impossible to disentangle politics from education). It’s more my own thoughts on the directions and actions the person in that role should be focusing on going forward.

For a little background – I’ve spent the last 28 years of my life in public education. I spent my early years as a teacher in Austin ISD including in some of the most poverty-stricken and underserved communities in our state. The second half of my career was spent as an administrator. In that role, I learned how to decode, dodge, duck and dive around state mandates to make sure that the students in my schools were getting the best education for their future despite having to adhere to some antiquated thinking from the state. I testified at the state legislature three times and worked as the head of a non-profit educational group (TEC-SIG) for many years. But most importantly, I have three kids that are currently students in Texas public schools. So, with that out of the way…let’s begin.

Spend time in classrooms

If I could offer one piece of advice to the next commissioner of education in Texas, it would be this: Before you start changing what happens in classrooms, spend some real time in them. The governor-elect has mentioned putting a “real educator” in the position and I think this is a great start.

And when I say “spend time in the classroom”, I don’t mean a carefully scheduled visit with the freshly painted hallway, matching shirts, and a photographer following you around. Go on a random Tuesday. Get there early when the campus administrators and counselors are out working bus duty and the car drop-off line. Be sure to stay through at least lunch duty. Watch a teacher help one student understand fractions while redirecting another and answering a question from a third. Then ask that teacher what would make tomorrow better.

That’s where I’d start. Because the changes our schools need are much easier to understand when you’re sitting inside one. But, getting into the classrooms is just a start. I have a few other requests too.

Let us see where the money goes

When I started in my role as Director of Instructional Technology I was flabbergasted by all the different accounts, vendors, tools, apps, etc. that we were paying for that we weren’t even aware of. That needs to be fixed, but if we’re going to demand transparency from schools, we should expect it from the Texas Education Agency.

The picture above is from a legislative meeting I attended some years ago around open education resources being an option for schools in our state. Notice anything interesting about the picture? Who was on the panel for Q&A around this? All vendors and publishers with their own financially driven agendas.

I’m not saying that all vendors are bad, but vendor contracts should be easy to find and easy to understand. Who received the contract? How were they selected? What are we paying? What did they promise to deliver? How will we know whether it worked? And when something doesn’t work, what happens next? Too often times we don’t treat pilot programs in education as not true pilots. Instead, they become gradual rollouts. If something is being attempted and not working, we should abandon it and try something else, not roll it out to all schools.

Also, a parent or teacher shouldn’t need a law degree and an entire weekend to follow the money. Publish the contracts, explain the decisions, and report the results in plain language. Heck, you can even have AI help you make an easy-to-understand graphic. Before asking schools to account for every dollar, show them that the agency overseeing them welcomes the same scrutiny.

Give schools room to do their jobs

Texas is a big state. A strategy that works in a small rural district might need serious adjustments in a large urban district. Even two schools down the road from each other can serve students with very different needs. I’ve never understood why the state tries to pass sweeping generalized agendas when each school has its own unique set of needs. We should absolutely have expectations. We should know whether students are learning and we should intervene when children aren’t being served.

But every expectation doesn’t need its own platform, reporting requirement, training module, and follow-up spreadsheet. Before introducing another requirement, ask what it will take off a teacher’s plate. If the answer is “nothing,” explain why the additional work is worth the time it takes away from students. Set clear goals and provide meaningful support.

On election day, I got to spend some time at my daughter’s middle school during their in-service day. They didn’t bring me in to teach some new initiative; they brought me in to have some fun and help heal the culture. The leadership saw that the teachers there are drowning in their everyday life and scrutiny from the state. They needed a break.

We need to invest in building culture before we invest in another initiative or strategy. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Peter Drucker – “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The state can come up with an amazing plan, but we need to give educators room to figure out how to get there with the children they actually teach. That doesn’t happen if we keep micromanaging every minute in their day from the state level.

Fix the funding conversation

I know the commissioner doesn’t write the state budget. The Legislature controls many of the decisions that determine school funding, salaries, and recapture. But the commissioner has a microphone and should use it.

We should be able to explain what it actually costs to operate a school without needing a degree in mathematics. The commissioner needs to identify actual present-day costs then advocate for funding that keeps pace with those costs. Be honest about what happens when expectations rise and resources don’t keep up. And for God’s sake, please include room in the budget for professional learning and support whenever there is a change in curricula, instruction, or vision.

And…it’s about time we took a serious look at Robin Hood recapture.

I understand the purpose of sharing resources so a child’s educational opportunities aren’t determined by their ZIP code. That principle matters and I believe that should stay intact. But we need a system that supports equity while recognizing what districts can actually afford. Rising property values don’t magically make every family wealthy or every school financially secure. My home district here in Austin is considered “property wealthy” and is facing a $180 million budget shortfall. They’ve cut administrators and support staff to the bone. They’ve reduced transportation, increased class sizes, and removed block scheduling from schools to save money. There’s nothing left to cut.

We should be able to protect students in districts with fewer resources while addressing the strain recapture places on other communities. That deserves a serious conversation, with understandable numbers and educators at the table.

Explain the funding priorities

Texas has moved forward with its voucher program, formally called Texas Education Freedom Accounts. For the 2026–27 school year, the standard award for a participating private-school student is $10,474. (Texas Comptroller) Meanwhile, the public-school basic allotment is $6,215 per student in average daily attendance. Those figures measure different things: the basic allotment is only one part of public-school funding. But families deserve a clear explanation of the full funding picture and whether our priorities match our promises.

But comparing a voucher award with the public-school basic allotment alone doesn’t tell the whole story. So let’s put the whole story on the table.

Show families a clear comparison of funding, services, obligations, and accountability. Then explain how Texas will provide comparable commitment to the students attending public schools. Those schools must be prepared to serve students with a wide range of needs and responsibilities and their funding should reflect that.

If the state can make a substantial investment in educational choice, it should bring that same urgency to adequately funding the public schools that educate roughly nine out of ten Texas students.

Make teaching a career people can sustain

We say teachers matter, but our state doesn’t back that up. Their working conditions should make that obvious. Technology in disarray and HVAC units being held together by duct tape are just a piece of the puzzle. The environments where we ask teachers to spend most of their waking hours are laughable.

But that’s really just small potatoes when you compare it with how much we pay teachers in this state. Certified teachers should be able to build a stable life around the profession they trained to enter. Teachers should be able to afford to live in the school districts where they work without having to take on 2 or 3 extra jobs on the side. Texas ranked 33rd in average teacher pay in 2024-25, paying teachers nearly $11,000 less than the national average according to NEA. We should at least be average, if not above. And while we are at it, teachers shouldn’t have to pay property taxes. Let’s make it an incentive for a teacher to buy a home in the community where they work without having to pay for part of their own salary in high property taxes.

Once we’ve tackled the money, we should look at time.

Teachers need protected time to plan lessons, review student work, collaborate, and contact families. Those are essential parts of teaching, and they belong in the workday. When planning periods disappear into coverage assignments and meetings, the work still has to happen. It follows teachers home. We cannot keep building school improvement plans around the assumption that teachers will donate more evenings.

Make support and training useful

Professional development should help a teacher walk into class better prepared. That means relevant training, time to practice, access to coaching, and opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues. Ask teachers what they need before buying the program.

Give new teachers meaningful mentorship. Give veteran teachers opportunities to grow without requiring them to leave the classroom. Create leadership pipelines for teachers that want to take on administrative roles. And take certification seriously by supporting the people who invest in becoming certified. For the last several years, our state has taken more of a ‘anyone with a pulse’ approach to putting teachers in the classroom. A credential should come with a professional environment that helps teachers use and deepen their expertise.

Training also needs follow-through and shouldn’t be just some random online module. A presentation in August won’t solve a problem that requires ongoing support in October. Build that into the system and structure. Here’s a thought…consider changing the school calendar. I know that’s heresy in a state where football comes first, but consider a model similar to that of Australia. Four 10-week terms, with two-week breaks between the first three terms and a six-week summer. That could accomplish two things: It provides time for support and professional learning throughout the year and reduces the dreaded “summer slide” when students miss 12 weeks of learning time.

Stay close to classrooms

I mentioned this at the beginning and I’ll mention it once more here at the end. I’d like the next commissioner’s calendar to include regular, extended time in schools. Listen to teachers without their supervisors selecting every person in the room. Talk with students. Meet the aides, counselors, librarians, bus drivers, and school nurses who keep the day moving. Then show people what changed because of those conversations. Which requirement disappeared? Which funding recommendation improved? Which contract was reconsidered? Which teacher concern became an agency priority?

Listening earns trust when people can see its effect. I’ve only ever seen our current commissioner speaking from behind a podium. My encounters with state legislators have been across a dais, like the one pictured above. In the future, I’d like to see them sitting on the carpet reading with our youngest children and in physics classrooms learning alongside our students.

The truth is, lasting change grows from the bottom up. Teachers, students, and communities need a real role in shaping it. The state can provide resources, remove obstacles, and help good ideas spread. That’s the kind of leadership I’m asking for from the next commissioner.

Spend enough time in classrooms to understand what schools need. Then use the authority of the office to help them get it. Texans said this week that they are ready for a change. The real test will be what new leadership does next…and whether the teachers and students in our classrooms feel the difference.

I, for one, am hopeful they do.