Gov. Greg Abbott wags his finger during a pro-school choice rally in San Antonio last year. Credit: Michael Karlis

In his latest effort to sell Texans on school vouchers, Gov. Greg Abbott is assuring them that “school choice” won’t defund the state’s damn-near-sacred high school football programs.

However, Abbott’s claim — fired off Monday in a tweet — follows days after the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a right-wing think tank and staunch voucher proponent, posted an online video claiming otherwise. In its clip, TPPF argued vouchers would halt wasteful public school spending on things like a “new football stadium.”

In his tweet, Abbott bragged about Texas’ great football programs, assuring voters that vouchers won’t dim the state’s Friday night lights.

“School choice will NOT take away funding from Texas high school football. Period,” the Republican governor wrote. “Florida and Arizona have the largest school choice programs and are among the best high school football programs in the country. Texas is also one of the only SEC states without school choice.”

School voucher opponents maintain that such programs drain public education coffers by incentivizing parents to remove their kids from public schools and put them in private ones. In Texas, public school funding is tied to student body size and enrollment. Fewer kids means less money.

Greg Tepper, managing editor of the venerable Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine, wrote a recent editorial arguing that public school dollars lost due to a voucher program would cut deeply into Texas football programs.

“With shrinking budgets, public school districts would almost certainly cut back on funding for extracurricular activities, like athletics,” Tepper wrote. “The short version: there would be fewer resources for Texas high school football programs. Fewer coaches, less equipment, an overall downgrade in the nuts and bolts that make a Texas high school football program go.”

To that point, the Texas High School Coaches Association opposes voucher legislation due to the effect it would have on athletics budgets, Tepper points out.

Even the TPPF, normally an Abbott ally, appears to agree. The group tweeted out a Feb. 19 video bragging that vouchers would end public school districts’ wasteful spending on football stadiums, auditoriums and other big-ticket items placed before voters.

“The profiteers also fund the propaganda campaigns that get voters to supper the local bond packages,” the video states. “Just a little investment pushing voters to believe that a district desperately needs a new football stadium or auditorium can reap massive contracts for these companies.”

The clip suggests that public schools, through a web of corrupt lobbyists and organizations, are rigging contracts with public money for pie-in-the-sky projects.

It’s not the first time Abbott’s claims about school vouchers have ended up in contradictory territory.

Earlier this month, the governor tweeted that “the people ‘defunding’ public schools are PARENTS choosing a better option that what their assigned school provides.” Voucher opponents read the statement as a tacit admission that vouchers would defund public schools.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed  

Related Stories

This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...