Fourteen school districts in Bexar County, alongside more than 100 organizations and 20 businesses, have agreed on one shared list of legislative priorities ahead of the January session. The Bexar Builds Coalition says the focus is on the teacher pipeline, special education investment, school safety and security, early childhood education, and reevaluating the cost of simply operating a campus. With the bill pre-filing deadline roughly a month away, the group wants lawmakers to hear a unified message instead of scattered requests.

The biggest sticking point is money. Districts say utilities, transportation, and fuel costs have climbed with inflation while state funding hasn’t kept pace. Eduardo Hernandez, superintendent of Edgewood ISD, framed it as straightforward: the state needs to cover the cost of doing business. Coalition founder Julia Grizzard also invited the business community into the conversation, pointing out that today’s students become tomorrow’s employees. A struggling school system isn’t just a school problem, it’s a workforce problem.

So why should parents in Waxahachie care about a summit in San Antonio? Because the decisions that come out of the next session don’t stay in Bexar County. Special education funding, campus consolidation rules, and operating budgets get set for every district in Texas at the same table. When you watch what a metro region asks for, you’re often watching an early draft of what your own district will be negotiating over next. What would you put at the top of the list for Waxahachie schools?