Texas public schools are a vital pipeline to a healthy and vibrant future — economically and socially.

It’s unclear if that view is shared inside the House and Senate chambers of our state’s Capitol. We’d certainly like to think so, as decisions made there shape Texas’ public education system.

But we’re not so sure.

That’s because despite beginning the last legislative session with eyes full of dollar signs from an historic budget surplus, lawmakers didn’t pass any game-changing legislation that proved a commitment to adequately invest in Texas public schools. That includes not raising the base amount of money that districts receive per student, not changing the state’s school funding formula and certainly not boosting teacher pay.

What lawmakers did a lot of, however, is clash — with each other and Gov. Greg Abbott — over a so-called “school choice” initiative in the form of a voucher program.

Such a program would create $8,000 education savings accounts, or ESAs, for families to use on private school tuition, tutoring and books or other materials.

Abbott, who has traveled across the state advocating for education savings accounts, found support in the Senate but pushback in the House — especially from rural lawmakers fearful of how such legislation would hurt schools in their districts.

The governor and others championed ESAs as a way to give parents freedom in their children’s education, often mentioning what Abbott called “woke agendas” popping up in districts across the state.

“Schools should not be pushing woke agendas,” Abbott said during a March rally at a Tyler private school. “Our schools should be used for education and not indoctrination.”

Would anyone argue against parents having a louder voice in how and what their children are taught? We wouldn’t.

But any program that would siphon funds away from our already beleaguered public education system isn’t the answer.

And beyond that issue, using taxpayer money to fund private school education is problematic in other ways.

Private schools aren’t required to accept every student who applies, unlike public schools. And would they have the resources to care for special needs children?

The proposed ESA amount of $8,000 is unlikely to cover private school tuition and other costs, and then there’s the issue of accountability — or lack of it.

Despite a Senate proposal that would have given small school districts relief in the first five years by providing $10,000 for each student who left using an ESA, the offer wasn’t comforting to leery lawmakers or opponents of vouchers.

It’s hard to blame them. The Legislature hasn’t exactly earned trust when it comes to sufficiently funding public schools. And there’s no guarantee what would happen after those five years are up.

Lawmakers are almost certain to return to Austin in October to debate the school choice issue and tackle public education funding.

State Rep. Jay Dean is one of the Republican lawmakers who opposes school choice legislation.

The former Longview mayor said such proposals are only “nibbling around the edges” of the problem and not common sense fixes.

Dean is pushing for a clean slate approach to financing public education — one that positions Texas to offer a “world-class education.”

And that brings us back to where we started. Do lawmakers have the desire — and grit — to make necessary investments in public education that will return dividends years and decades down the line?

“The governor preaches world-class economy in the state of Texas,” Dean told us. “We talk the game, but don’t invest in the game…. If want to make money, we have to invest money. For us to have a world-class economy, we have to have a world-class education.”

“School choice” is a shiny distraction that has lured lawmakers’ eyes away from tackling the real problem.

It’s time for Austin to make the right financial commitment to our public school system — and our state’s future.