Local // Texas Politics

As governor, Andrew White says he would expand gambling, boost teacher pay

Student scholarships, $2.5B in property tax cuts part of Democrat's plan

AUSTIN — An ambitious $9 billion plan to improve Texas public schools was unveiled Wednesday by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White, who prosposed funding it partly by expanding gambling in Texas and halting state border-security spending — both contentious issues in the past.

Unveiling his plan at a downtown Austin hotel, entering the final weeks before a May 22 runoff election with rival Lupe Valdez, White said that in addition to more money for schools, his proposal would also provide a $2.5 billion in property tax cuts for local homeowners.

It also calls for a one-time, $5,000-per-teacher pay raise, a $5,000 scholarship for Texas students who graduate with a 3.0 grade point average or better and attend a Texas college or university, and a $10,000 scholarship for students who want to become teachers.

"With schools that are ranked 40th in the nation, it's time to declare an education emergency in Texas," said White, a Houston entrepreneur and son of the late Texas Gov. Mark White who set education a priority during his administration three decades ago. "Gov. Abbott has failed us and our kids."

The plan also includes universal, all-day pre-kindergarten, no caps on access to special education, improved vocational programs, elimination of "high-stakes testing," increasing the state healthcare contribution for teachers for the first time in 15 years and a cost-of-living adjustment for retired teachers' pensions.

To pay for the $6.5 billion cost, White said he wants to close a $5 billion loophole in property taxes for some commercial properties, divert approximately $1 billion in state funding for border security that the federal government is now paying for and expand gambling at horse tracks. He also wants to allow a small number of casinos at "destination resorts" around the state that would include slot machines and gaming tables.

Expanding gambling alone, a proposal that has generated intense opposition in the GOP-controlled Legislature for years, would generate an additional $3 billion.

White said the dozen existing horse and dog tracks would be allowed to open casinos. Indian tribes would be allowed do the same under his plan, after years of facing state opposition to full casino gaming at their resorts and casinos.

If the Legislature refuses to expand gaming, White said Texans should be allowed to vote on it. Approval of each location would be determined by "local option" votes, he said.

He said gaming at "destination resorts" might include places along Texas' Gulf Coast such as Kemah. Earlier proposals also have included places like the Stockyards in Fort Worth. All gaming revenues would go to pay for the scholarships, which White called "a trifecta" for future success.

As Texas has faced increasing state costs for various programs in the past decade, the issue of allowing casino gambling has repeatedly come up and quickly has been shot down by conservative groups, religious leaders and the Republican leadership. Pushes to expand gaming are under way in several other states with dire budget shortfalls.

Some other states also are considering legalizing sports wagering and allowing daily digital sports gaming as a way to boost government revenue.

"Texas is too big for Greg Abbott's small thinking," White said of his overall plan, criticizing Abbott for calling a special legislative session last summer to pass a controversial bathroom bill but not to find additional funding for Texas' beleaguered public education system.

"This is a fully funded plan. No tax increase," White said.

He called on Abbott to call a special session for education. Abbott, who has resisted similar demands from Democrats and school activists in the past, had no immediate comment.

White said he would use the extra $2.5 billion generated by his plan to lower property taxes for homeowners, taxes he said have been increasing steadily in recent years as the Republican Legislature has shifted more costs to local school districts.

Both White and Valdez have touted improving public education as a priority. Valdez has supported universal pre-K, reforming Texas' system of school finance, free community college and improved vocation training, among other measures.

"We have to invest in Texans and help them find their path to the education they dream of," Valdez says in her education platform. "Our children are the best investment we can ever make and I won't let this next generation go without the education they rightfully deserve.

White's plan drew some favorable reaction, though officials acknowledged privately that most of it hinges on the Republican Legislature approving an expansion of gambling and making other changes in state law that appear long-shots, at best. Some also suggested that while additional funding is always needed, Texas schools may not be as bad as White may believe. The graduation rate is at an all-time high, in the top five in the nation, and Texas has more top-rated public high schools than any other state, they noted.

"It sounds good, if it happens," said Marian Torelli, a retired Austin teacher after she read White's plan. "You know how politics are."

White's education plan marks his second major policy proposal. Two weeks ago, he proposed a state push to use more Texas-produced fuel and create a network of self-driving cars to improve mass transit across the state.
