Rep. Bumgarner posted a TEA graph about school funding. It didn't go over well.

October 29, 2025

By Mary Beth Gahan

FLOWER MOUND, Texas — Jennifer Cilliers started paying attention to school funding a few years ago, before her daughter started kindergarten in Lewisville ISD. She wanted to know more about the process and what the issues were.

Cilliers read what she could, talked with stakeholders, and is now on the board of her school’s PTA. When she posts comments online about school funding, she frequently tags elected officials.

Last week, State Rep. Ben Bumgarner responded in a post on his Facebook page.

“Jennifer Cilliers, I am sitting in a presentation with Mike Morath right now. Heres [sic] the numbers for 23/24. I see you claiming that districts are only getting $6160 in funding per student. Clearly that is a misguided number,” Bumgarner wrote along with a photo of a graph from the Texas Education Agency.

The post received dozens of comments from Bumgarner’s constituents, some of whom are or have been school board members in the district he represents. They didn’t agree with his take that each student receives more than $16,000 annually. He replied to several of them with figures he saw in the TEA presentation. Still, he didn’t budge. Eventually, he suggested that it was time to cede local control of school boards.

Cilliers said she was “very surprised” to be tagged by Bumgarner, whose wife is running for the State Board of Education. The post has 116 comments, far more than any other he has on Facebook this year.

The debate over the amount of money that public school districts receive per-student annually has ramped up in recent months after the state legislature passed a bill funding a $1 billion program that will create education savings accounts for families to use toward tuition and other expenses at private schools starting next year. Bumgarner voted for the bill.

With that program, each student that uses the vouchers is eligible for $10,000 to be spent on expenses each year. Critics have said that public schools, which taxes are intended to fund, receive far less than that per student.

Bumgarner’s post showed a graph from the Texas Education Agency, which Morath heads, that gives a per-student average of $16,156.

But Lewisville ISD’s leadership has repeatedly said that averages are misleading. Instead, they point to a basic allotment — $6,160 — given to each student before factoring in special education, dual language instruction, or other programs that require more funding.

A few months ago, Lewisville ISD put out a video showing Superintendent Lori Rapp “teaching” a class to other district officials as if she was talking to sixth graders. In it, she said using an average sometimes “oversimplifies complex data.”

In the video, she breaks down the average per-student number that is used by TEA. In it, there’s the basic allotment of $6,160. But the number also includes money given to small and medium districts — which Lewisville ISD is not — as well as bond funds and money sent to Teacher Retirement Systems.

“We cannot use that money on any daily operations of the school district,” Rapp said.

The 9-minute video detailed more issues with the per-student average that Bumgarner was publicizing. Those who commented on the post used the same data to counter the representative’s post.

Former LISD board president Tracy Scott Miller replied.

“You are the least engaged State Rep LISD has ever had. I respect you but this is a fact not a misguided statement,” he wrote.

Northwest ISD board member Steve Sprowls, who is running for Texas House District 93, also chimed in.

“ummm…the post isn’t the flex you think it is,” Sprowls wrote. “In the TEA presentation you were lead to believe what they wanted you to believe. Now go talk to the experts at the local level to get the full picture.”

Bumgarner replied that districts should start cutting back on “shiny things” like football complexes because people aren’t happy that “students aren’t getting a proper education.” He said eighth graders who came to the state capitol didn’t know who won the Civil War or what the Battle of San Jacinto was. He suggested local districts raise tax rates to increase funding.

“What’s sad is that as a two-term Representative, you still don’t understand how school financing works,” Sprowls wrote. “I can tell by other replies in this post, you are being ‘schooled’ by your constituents. It wouldn’t hurt to spend an afternoon with either the Northwest ISD or Lewisville ISD CFOs…or both to get a complete picture.”

In reply to another comment, Bumgarner pointed to the fact that more than a third of the state’s budget goes toward education and to use more money for that purpose would mean taking it from other state-funded projects like infrastructure.

“Or maybe the locals can use their control and fix it themselves. They’re a taxing entity by right. If you want me to write a bill taking away local control I certainly can do this. But I don’t think it’s what you really want,” he wrote.

In another comment, he alluded again to ceding local control of school districts.

“If the Texas Education Agency isn’t the place I need to get my information from then maybe it’s time the state fully reviews all our local school districts and considers getting rid of the ‘independent’ in school district,” Bumgarner wrote.

Just last week, the state took control of Fort Worth ISD after one school failed to meet academic standards set by the state. The school board will be replaced with managers and a superintendent selected by Morath.

Lewisville ISD is having a special election for a seat on the Board of Trustees. In a questionnaire with North Texas Sun, both candidates said funding is the biggest challenge the district is facing.

“When funding is limited, it directly impacts compensation, resources, and the overall support we can provide to our teachers and staff,” Michelle Alkhatib wrote.

Madison Lopez agreed and cited the basic allotment that other district officials have pointed to as a better indicator of what each student receives, rather than the state average.

“The basic student allotment has not kept up with the cost of inflation,” Lopez wrote.

Early voting runs through Friday. Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 4.