The Long Game: The Dismantling of Texas Public Schools

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Dear Editor,

I recently attended a screening of the powerful, eye-opening, and deeply disturbing documentary The Long Game: The Dismantling of Texas Schools. What I witnessed was a sobering examination of the calculated political decisions and relentless ideological forces threatening the very foundation of Texas public education.

For generations, our public schools have been the heart of our communities, providing opportunity, stability, and hope. Today, they face an alarming and potentially devastating transformation.

The Heritage Foundation, the influential conservative organization behind Project 2025, has aggressively promoted school choice, private-school vouchers, and eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. These proposals are presented under the appealing banners of freedom and parental rights. But we must ask: Freedom for whom? Choice for whom? And at whose expense?

What happens to children whose families cannot afford private-school tuition? What happens to students with disabilities? What happens to rural schools already struggling with inadequate funding and critical teacher shortages?

Our children's education should never become a political experiment driven by wealthy special interests and ideological agendas.

Here in Huntsville and throughout Walker County, our public schools are indispensable community institutions. Our dedicated, hardworking teachers deserve competitive salaries, adequate resources, and unwavering respect—not political interference and endless uncertainty.

I commend filmmaker Sharon Ferranti and project co-creator Chris Tritico for exposing these troubling issues and encouraging Texans to question the direction of public education.

Public education is not a partisan privilege. It is a public responsibility and a cornerstone of democracy.

Silence is dangerous. Complacency is costly. The future of Texas education depends on our willingness to speak out.

Our children deserve better. Our teachers deserve better. Texas deserves better.

Sincerely, Diana Peters Huntsville, Texas