One of the great pleasures of defending public education in Texas is the opportunity to meet fellow Texans and discuss the issues vital to our state. Recently, it was my honor to join the Park Cities Republican Women for their May meeting, hosted at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas. Billed as a “debate” between myself and Mandy Drogan of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), we were tasked with giving the pros and cons of so-called school choice. My remarks, minus a few impromptu asides, followed much of the same argument I have delivered to the members of the Texas House and Senate in committee hearings: as good-hearted Texans, we can find common cause under the banner of public education.
I’ve been called a delusional optimist before, but few experiences are as validating as having some in the self-proclaimed “lion’s den” honestly engage with our message and vocally support public education. I will keep saying it – public education is the tie that binds us together as Texans and Americans. That rings true in the Park Cities just as it does under the Pink Dome.
View Jaime’s remarks as a PDF.