Editor’s note: This opinion piece was submitted to The Permian Press for publication. Readers interested in submitting an opinion on this or another local issue can visit our Submit a Story page.

Amber Davidson is a Midland-area parent, former teacher, and public school advocate. She is President of the Midland Council of PTAs and a member of the Raise Your Hand Texas advocacy core team.

Alongside the youngest Texans in preschool to high school students, as a board-certified teacher, I’ve walked the halls and worked in the classrooms of campuses across West Texas and the Panhandle. As a parent, I remain deeply engaged in my own children’s education, too. Along the way, I started to find my true calling as an advocate for public education. 

When we arrived in Midland, the city was booming, but the schools were struggling to keep pace with the growth. Knowing strong public schools are foundational to a community and to our economy, I began to see how important it is to raise your voice to drive change.

If you’re unhappy with something, talk to people about it. The only way to find a solution and a path forward is through dialogue and action. Educate and advocate. Be prepared to ask the tough questions. Be productive and constructive. Stay informed and engaged. These are just some of the fundamentals of strong advocacy, and they’re the tools I’ve used every step of my journey from the classroom to the Capitol.

When we’re engaged as parents and as teachers, kids do better. Whether you have a child in public schools or not, your success – our success as a community and as business owners – rests on the Permian Basin and schools all across the state having the resources and support they need.

Increasingly, there’s a vocal but influential minority that has worked hard to discredit teachers and devalue public education. The mindset that anybody can step into a classroom, that our students can still achieve with dwindling resources allocated to their teachers and schools.

In Texas, we’re currently shifting our focus and our resources away from something so central to our individual and collective success, our local public schools, and the 5.5 million students in them.

Let me put it more bluntly, we need to be fully funding our public schools.

Unfortunately, schools across our state, including right here in Midland, are struggling under budget deficits and with state funding that doesn’t keep pace with inflation and keeps Texas firmly in the bottom 10 of states’ per-pupil funding for public schools.

All of this is counter to the promises made and requirements found in our Texas Constitution: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

Lately, you get a sense that we’ve been electing leaders who want to do the opposite. Our elected officials should be listening to us.

We need some fresh innovation and meaningful, sustainable investment in public education. That’s the focus of the proposed Legacy Education Fund, an idea that came about and is growing in support through local conversations and leadership across the state.

Our public schools will be the best they can be when we respect and invest in the students, parents, teachers, and families they serve. The time to stay on the sidelines has passed.

Take it from me, there are ample opportunities for you to educate and advocate for public schools, whether you’re a parent, grandparent, business owner, faith leader, or simply a citizen concerned about the future economy and prosperity of our great state.

Whether it’s through local PTA and school volunteer opportunities or organizations like Raise Your Hand Texas, where I’m proud to serve on their Advocacy Core Team, step up, lean in, and let’s fight for what matters, together.