Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivered a determined and emotional speech as his annual State of the State message from Austin on Sunday evening.
He called for school choice, which many state analysts consider his top priority, but also for salary raises for public school teachers.
The annual speech is made public in front of an audience but includes the priorities for laws he wants to see passed by the state legislature, which is meeting this year.
Mr. Abbott, in front of 1100 people at Arnold Oil Company in Austin, called for an end of loopholes that allow some local taxing entities to increase property taxes.
He called for "property tax relief" an emergency item for the legislature, which would for the second legislative session in a row, reduce property taxes for some Texans.
The Governor called for the biggest program in the state's history to invest in new water projects, to "Texas-size that investment," he said, with "plenty of water for the next five decades."
He said increased power for the ERCOT grid is a top priority, and so is a "nuclear power renaissance" for which the state will lead the way.
And "Texas must be number one in educating our children," he told a seated crowd gathered to watch his speech..
"There are three pillars to reach that goal,' he said, "all of which must be achieved."
"The first pillar is empowered parents. Parents are a child's first teacher..and parents must be empowered to choose the school that is best for their child.
"The second pillar is exemplary teachers. We must fund and train the best teachers. And that starts with giving our teachers a pay raise this session," the Governor said.
"We must reward the best teachers, by putting them on a path to earn a six-figure salary."
"And in order to keep great teachers, we must return discipline to our schools," he added. "And we must spend $500 million more to ensure the safety of our schools."
"The third pillar is academic excellence. Public education funding is at an all-time high. Funding per student is at an all-time high. But improving education requires more than just spending money, it requires high-level instruction and better curricula.
"But let's be clear, we must not push woke agendas on our kids....last session we banned DEI in universities, this session we must ban DEI in grades K through 12," he said.
