State Representative candidates discuss their different stances on school vouchers
By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
The race for the Texas House District 60 seat, which includes Stephens, Palo Pinto and Parker counties, is in full swing following campaign events by both candidates last week.
On Monday, Jan. 29, incumbent Glenn Rogers held a reelection campaign kickoff rally in Breckenridge. Then on Thursday, his challenger, Mike Olcott, held an event in Mineral Wells that included a visit and endorsement by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott had endorsed Rogers during his 2022 matchup against Olcott but has switched his endorsement to Olcott. During the legislative session and the following special sessions this year, Rogers, along with some other rural house members, voted to remove school voucher funding that was supported by the governor from the proposed education bill, and Abbott promised to retaliate.
As reported in the Texas Tribune, in November, 21 House Republicans voted to strip a voucher program out of the wide-ranging education bill, House Bill 1, which was then not advanced by the House. The voucher program would allow parents to use taxpayer money to pay for private school costs. According to the recent Texas Tribune article Texas Republicans who defied Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers face mounting primary attacks, Abbott is following through on his promise and is targeting the 16 Republicans who voted against the voucher program and are now running for re-election, including Rogers.
The two District 60 candidates’ positions on the governor’s proposed voucher program is one of the major differences between them, with Olcott supporting it and Rogers opposing it. To help readers understand their positions, we have included an op-ed from each candidate’s campaign about their stand on the voucher program.
Because of the technical layout of the Breckenridge Texan, one of the pieces has to appear above the other. So we chose to post them in the same order that Rogers and Olcott’s names will appear on the March Primary ballot in Stephens County, since we are based in the county. So, the order of the posting in no way reflects an endorsement of either position. We just wanted to provide our readers with each candidate’s point of view.
And as always, the Breckenridge Texan welcomes letters to the editor from readers on this topic and others. Send your letters via email to tony.pilkington@breckenridgetexan.com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor.”
Click here to read Mike Olcott’s op-ed.
Click here to read Glenn Rogers’ op-ed.
State Representative Glenn Rogers speaks to supporters at a campaign kickoff Monday night, Jan. 29, in Breckenridge. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Mike Olcott poses with Gov. Greg Abbott during a campaign kickoff rally in Mineral Wells on Thursday. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Bearden/Mineral Wells Area News)
