During my twelve years of serving in a leadership role for our Baytown community, I have always felt included in the comprehensive dialogue and planning of our city's overall health and positive direction regarding the things that make up a city. During my tenure, I have had three mayors with three different leadership styles, each of whom has possessed a desire for the Baytown community to prosper.

As superintendent of schools, I certainly appreciate them supporting a strong education system for our public schools and higher education, inviting business development, expanding parks and recreation, and planning infrastructure for roads, drainage, water, and electricity. This inclusive approach to serving all citizens when thinking about our future has always given me hope that our community will continue to flourish.

Baytown Day at the State Capitol, held every other year during the legislative session, is a special event where our elected state officials honor and recognize our mayor for our city's positive impact on the local, regional, and global economy. Each Mayor has invited me, along with our elected council members and various community stakeholders to attend. This visit also allows our host officials to hear from our community leaders about the key drivers of our success and the needs we may have.

The event begins with a social gathering where host officials warmly welcome the Baytown entourage. It’s always a special experience, making us feel at home in the State Capitol, where elected officials serve the people. The next day, we tour each representative’s chamber to hear their vision for the session, including bill proposals, the legislative process, and the compromises that shape the laws governing our state for the next biennium. We were blessed to visit with two Senators and three Representatives.

While I believe they listened astutely to our city's needs, I also felt like many of the conversations were driven by predisposition. One representative projected that he generally went along with the majority of the house. Another expressed displeasure for corporate greed and yet passion for teachers, while also posing that parental choice would still be the primary driver of this session. One senator expressed a desire to find common ground for the good of the people, while another expressed no new revenue and school choice as their primary talking points.

While I very much appreciate each official’s passion for serving our great state, this visit left me questioning whether our state elected officials are as motivated to ensure local control as they are to adhere to national rhetoric. Yes, governmental bloating and hidden waste may exist throughout our national budget, which has come to light recently.

However, while listening to our own city officials' concerns about how reduced funding has impacted our ability to meet even the bare minimum essential services, I was not convinced that our state officials understood the heroic efforts that our city has taken to become more efficient and provide the most cost-effective delivery of services to our taxpayers.

The cry of these officials for “No New Revenue” seemed to drown out the efforts of our city, our college, and our local school district, who have all collectively reduced our tax rates for our citizens. Municipal funding has not increased in two years, while public school funding has not increased for six years, all during one of the most inflationary times in history, and while the state has collected more revenue than at any other time in history.

In summary, I left the Capitol grateful to Mayor Johnson for uniting stakeholders as one voice for our community and returned a proud Baytownian. While hopeful for our future, I remain realistic that this session may not ease our fiscal concerns. The state seems to be shifting from local control to a broader state or national approach. Though this may worry some, we must remember that our votes shape the political process each election cycle.

Dr. Randal O’Brien

Superintendent of Schools