Ray Cogburn

@GovAbbottPress Keep trying to sell it! WE know this is a lie. Just because you keep saying it, doesn't make it so! Got any stats from the Texas Panhandle?

TEXANS SUPPORT SCHOOL CHOICE! An overwhelming majority of Texans from ALL walks of life and ALL regions of our state know how important it is for the Texas Legislature to pass school choice.

@LtGovTX No, Lt. Governor, school districts are not fully funded Ask any one of the 700 superintendents that worked to pass Voter Approved Tax Ratification Elections due to their deficit and declining budgets! I bet they would take a meeting with you. Shame on you!

As soon as the Texas Senate’s state budget was filed yesterday, the teacher unions were quick to attack. Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina was unimpressed. She says Texas schools are currently not fully funded. She is wrong. They are fully funded under the state formula. Since I became Lt. Governor in 2015, the Senate and I have increased school funding by $39 billion - and we’ve increased teacher pay more than ever before in Texas history, despite the school population being mostly flat during those years. As you can see on the attached chart, public education is the biggest share of our state budget. In 2019, the Senate increased teacher pay based on experience. Less experienced teachers received an average pay increase of $3,800 while the average pay increase for more experienced teachers was over $5,000. I also made sure the money flowed directly to teachers, not tied to any other school funding mechanism. In 2023, the Senate passed a bill with $4 billion specifically allocated for teacher pay increases. The Senate passed $3,000 pay raises for all teachers with an additional $7,000 pay increase for rural teachers to help close the pay gap between smaller and larger districts. Inexplicably, Speaker Dade Phelan killed that teacher pay raise bill on the last day of the session. The bill would have passed the House resoundingly. Not one of the teachers' unions helped to pass any of those pay increases. It was the Senate and my initiative. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

@plesafortexas Both! It's all about pushing his agenda forward. It will ruin public education. Withholding $$ to schools has already set us back! Shame on you GA!

Recently spoke with CBS News Texas about Gov. Abbott accepting a $6 MILLION donation—the largest in TX history—from an out-of-state billionaire pushing school vouchers. Is Abbott being paid to promote this agenda, or does he truly believe in undermining our public schools? Texans deserve answers. #txlege #EducationMatters

TX has dropped from 36th in per-pupil spending in 2018 to a troubling 44th in 2024. Our students & teachers deserve better than being pawns in a game of financial & political maneuvering. We must raise our voices & fight harder than ever in the upcoming #txlege 89th Session! #txed

1) Rep. Harrison, we feel the need to “horde” $$ because we’ve received little help from you & we realize we’re on own. Why “horde”? 1) It’s our 2nd yr in a row to pass a deficit budget. 2) Our county lost a tax lawsuit to a gas/oil co. & we had to write a $650k check last yr.

@Jason_Aldean Everybody seems to be looking for a reason to be upset! Keep doing you brother! I grew up in a small town. No one lynched anybody but… the expectations are high for ALL who lived there. We ALL had a whole set of Moms that supervised our behaviors. Great memories!

In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far. As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart. Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.

No way Governor! The more you say it, the less faith rural Texans have in your ability to lead! Think about that for your political future. Fully fund public schools, give teachers raises, and THAT will give you clout!

As we all know from Accountability Standards, the bottom quartile of any group is BAD! I would like to expect a Cadillac ride from my Ford truck…but, you get what you pay for! Sad!

If you only visit private schools on your “school choice” tour…it might make sense that your poll might not be representative of all Texans! Just sayin!

@JeniNeatherlin Bless your heart! I spent 26 in schools finishing as a super and then 14 years as an ESC Director. Always preached 1. God, 2. Family, 3. Work. Wrote down my time for 2 weeks and where I spent it. Eye opening, the ones I listed reversed in order! That life balance is tough!

I get asked a lot about work life balance- being a Sup, a mom, & a business owner. I’m a great mom- decent leader. I preach, family 1st. It’s a principle we operate on. We all make choices with our time, but responsibilities with our families can’t always be the sacrifice.

You keep saying it but repetition and loudness does not ring true! No way!🤷🏻‍♂️

Another lie! Teachers are leaving because legislators like you Lt. Dan do not respect, appreciate , or compensate teachers for what they do everyday! Increased accountability requirements, forced curriculum, and removing their autonomy to measure skills and teach are gone.

@JimGBoyle @KingForTexas @James_Barragan @jayleeson @ByEdMcKinley @pastors4txkids @HeathKeri @tars_tarsed @OttTempleISD @CowboySupt @mimiswartz @HKronberg Lt.Dan couldn’t tell the truth if it bit him! We all know it. He started his reign to hurt kids and kill public education back in the CScope days. If you know, you know!

Earlier this week Dan Patrick said that Ken King killed the teacher pay raise bill. False. Ken King did not add vouchers to the bill, the Senate did. Further, the claim that 80% of Republicans in his district support private school vouchers is also a falsehood. @KingForTexas

Imagine that…rural Republican Representatives that listen to their parents, superintendents, and some like @KingForTexas that have school board experience having “courage” to stand up to voucher steamrollers like Lt.Dan! Good for us in rural Texas!

Now this is the “team work that makes the dream work”! I completely understand why we have over a $30 billion surplus, no teacher pay raises, little for school safety, and the battle cry “everyone wants vouchers”. Not hard to figure why!

Last day to register and guarantee t shirt size! Register today!

@LtGovTX @TPPF @GovAbbott I don’t agree with the voucher system the Governor pushed this session but I can’t believe the Lt. Governor would come out and not support him. Lack of loyalty says all I need to know about a man!

We all want to end property taxes for good but it would require increasing the local sales tax from 8 ¼% to about 19%. Not happening! The @TPPF plan that @GovAbbott endorses is not realistic and everyone knows it. Whenever sales taxes underperform, property taxes will immediately go back up. #txlege

@AnetteCarlisle @JimGBoyle @DianeRavitch @NinaTotenberg @piper4missouri @nancypjohnson Smithee stated that his impeachment was a grave injustice and that if allowed, it could be you (other House members) and me (himself tomorrow. 😳. My thought was “ not if you take care of business”.

@JimGBoyle @DianeRavitch @NinaTotenberg @piper4missouri @nancypjohnson I didn’t watch. Why was Smithee trying to save this scoundrel

Smithee was very persuasive but the many years of lies and corruption carried the day in sending Ken Paxton to the TX Senate for an impeachment trial. Paxton had the support of: the Republican Party of TX, Sen Ted Cruz, and Trump. Maybe just maybe the extremists are in decline.

Thanks for all your hard work my friend! You created a really solid bill for public education and teachers. I appreciate your efforts and your fight against ESAs. Guess the Senate was ready to take their ball and go home. Such a shame.

@CaprockDemocrat We have at least two really good ones in @KingForTexas and @FourPriceTX !!