Katy ISD Educators Among Hundreds to Lobby at State Capitol
A group of Katy ISD educators were among more than 400 teachers who met with state legislators to discuss key public education issues during the Association of Texas Professional Educators’ (ATPE) Lobby Day Feb. 11 at the Texas State Capitol.
“As professional educators, we believe that our voice must be heard,” said Katy ATPE President Heidi Kirby. She teaches at Cinco Ranch High School. “We support restoring funds that were cut from public education in 2011 and reforming the accountability system in Texas public schools. We do not support any type of voucher program that would take money away from public schools and use public tax dollars for private schools and for-profit schools.”
Kirby traveled to Austin for ATPE Lobby Day with Katy ISD educators Bill Crockett, Tim Elliott, Janet Charpiot, Hellen Secrist, Lisa Love and Janet Godfrey.
In conjunction with Lobby Day, they participated in a Political Involvement Training event, where they learned how to impact the political process and gained insight into complex education issues facing the 83rd Legislature.
For more information on the ATPE Political Involvement Training and Lobby Day, visit TeachTheVote.org/News.
With more than 110,000 members, the Association of Texas Professional Educators is the preeminent educators’ association in Texas and the largest nonunion educators’ group nationwide. Its membership consists of classroom teachers, para-educators, administrators, college students and retired educators. ATPE is committed to advocating for better benefits for all educators, promoting a collaborative work environment and the right of educators to choose the association they feel represents their interests, and providing the best education possible for all Texas school children.
