The Texas House last Thursday passed two education-related bills, one that allocates $4.5 billion for teacher pay raises and another to increase the annual perstudent base funding from $6,160 to $6,300 – a 2.3% increase.The Austin American-Statesmanreported the bill would create minimum salaries for teachers ranging from $35,000 to $63,000 depending on experience and level of education. It would also increase funding for special education and fine arts.Some education advocates worry the per-student funding is insufficient to keep up with inflation, which has grown by 17% in the last four years, the Statesman reported. The bill also creates a method ...