Supermajority of Texas Voters Support Establishment of a Public Education and Workforce Endowment

Raise Your Hand Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth Leaders Highlight Endorsements, Statewide Polling In Support of Investment in Texas Public Schools

DALLAS, Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raise Your Hand Texas, alongside leaders from the faith, business, and civic communities across Dallas-Fort Worth, today urge state lawmakers to support a new funding stream for Texas public education focused on career and technical education and future-proofing our workforce. 

With new leadership preparing to take office, Texas enters a period of transition that presents opportunities to address longstanding public education funding challenges while looking toward the future. The coming months will help shape how state leaders approach these issues and consider new investments to support Texas public schools, students, and the state’s future workforce.

“Every Texas parent needs to know their child can achieve the modern American Dream through the quality education and skills provided by their local public school,” said Dr. Libby Cohen, Executive Director of Raise Your Hand Texas.

The proposed public education and workforce endowment would be the first new funding stream for Texas public education in 20 years. The state's Rainy Day Fund, which reached its cap in 2026 for the first time, provides a strong option for a substantial catalytic investment.

Nearly 1,300 leaders across Texas have already endorsed the proposal, and a recent statewide survey of Texas voters found overwhelming support for this new investment.  
The Raise Your Hand Texas voter survey found:

• Strong support for future-proofing the workforce: 86% of Texas voters agree we must equip the next generation with the high-tech skills and industry certifications that AI can’t replace. 
• Broad support for new, dedicated funding: 79% of Texans agree that establishing a dedicated public education and workforce endowment is a permanent promise to our children, giving them a quality education and prosperous future.
• Texas is well-positioned to invest in education and workforce: 77% of Texans agree that with our state’s current financial strength, creating a workforce fund is a sound investment in Texas’s economic future. 
  

A summary of the Raise Your Hand Texas poll and its methodology is available online.

“The proposed public education and workforce endowment represents an opportunity to invest upstream, strengthen career and technical education and give our schools the resources to build meaningful partnerships with industry,” said Lynn McBee, workforce czar for the City of Dallas. “The talent is already here. Our responsibility is to make sure opportunity is within reach.”

At the Dr. Edwin Flores Career Institute North, a CTE campus in Dallas ISD, McBee and public education advocates will explain why they endorse the public education and workforce endowment, and students from the program will share how it helped shape their lives and futures.

“Our public school students should be the primary pipeline filling Texas’ high-wage technical trades,” said Isaac Gunn, owner of Panther City Plumbing in Fort Worth. “A new public education and workforce endowment would provide stable, sustainable funding for career and technical education. We’re facing a workforce gap in many technical careers. The endowment would help meet a critical need for Texas employers.” 

“For several years now, Texans have been hoping schools will get more funding,” said Drew Gaylor, minister at Care Church in Richardson. “A public education and workforce endowment translates hope into a clear and creative strategy. This endowment would ensure our state’s youngest get a quality education, become good human beings, and have a secure, brighter future.”

Anne Lasseigne Tiedt, APR 
(512) 784-3805 
atiedt@ryht.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5bb0b676-c7a3-4ac5-94bb-37a361cd52a5

Potential Earnings from the Public Education and Workforce Endowment

Proposed earnings based on seed funding of $1B, $3B, or $5B, with a 7% return and a 4% payout