SCHOOL FINANCE

The Texas Education Agency says there’s time to fix problems before officially reported data is used to determine how much money districts get.

Schools are hiring instructors with different types of backgrounds to deal with critical staff shortages.

The Ector County school district boosted student learning but now faces financial uncertainty. It closed schools and cut costs to stay afloat, but it won’t slash teacher jobs.

Educators say they’ll struggle to keep the programs they created with those funds, highlighting their precarious situation without more state help.

A state lawmaker and Houston residents urge the Texas Education Agency to investigate whether the state-appointed superintendent improperly sent public funds to out-of-state charter schools.

The Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation program cuts property taxes for new manufacturing, research and development facilities. It replaces a shuttered program criticized for its impact on school finance.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 3 last year to address some of the issues that led to the botched police response during the Uvalde school shooting.

Public schools got little help from lawmakers this year to address the state’s chronic teacher shortage, so they’ve turned to other creative solutions — like leaning on cultural exchange programs to recruit international teachers.

The fourth special legislative session this year ended without any increased funding for school safety — even though public schools have complained for months they don’t have enough money to meet new safety mandates approved this year.

The Texas House’s vote to block education savings accounts disappointed voucher advocates and likely spelled doom for additional public school funding. Both bands say they’ll keep pushing for their priorities during next year’s primary elections and the 2025 legislative session.

The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending.

Senate Bill 5 would send an extra $800 million to public schools for security upgrades over the next two years. But the measure is at risk of becoming the latest casualty of the rift between the Texas House and Senate.

No members who voted against Abbott’s top legislative priority received the governor’s backing.

The outcome was an embarrassment to Gov. Greg Abbott, who spent seven months lobbying two dozen Republicans who signaled opposition to vouchers in April.

House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote.

The revised bill promises a significant funding increase for public schools and academic accountability measures for students participating in the proposed voucher program, two of the biggest requests from voucher opponents.

A bill to increase the state’s support for school safety appears stalled in this month’s special legislative session. But even if it passes, superintendents warn it isn’t enough.

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has been one of the staunchest voucher supporters, arguing it would increase access to religious education regardless of income level.

Conroe is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state. It and other districts say they need voters to OK bonds to keep up with the influx of students.

Parents of Texas’ growing population of home-schooled students are split over whether education savings accounts would give them much-needed financial help or represent an unwanted government involvement in their kids’ educations.

House Bill 1 would make an educational savings account program available to 25,000 Texas students in its first year, with increased participation to follow. The governor’s office indicated that the proposal was lacking.

The West Texas ethos of low taxes and small government has been hard for school leaders to overcome. Voters have rejected bond issues in Midland and Odessa during the last decade.

The proposal would give families who exit the state’s public education system access to $8,000 of taxpayer money each year to pay for their children’s private schooling.

Gov. Greg Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin to try again to pass education savings accounts, which would let families use state funds to pay for their children’s private schooling. Teacher pay was not part of his agenda.

State Rep. John Bryant said Democrats will need to work together to block the “school choice” bill in October.

Lawmakers at a Texas Tribune Fest panel found common ground on school funding and teacher pay but took starkly different stances on “school choice.”

School officials in San Antonio announced earlier this week that they are looking at closing about 20% of their campuses while Plano school officials are starting those discussions.

For decades, the Texas comptroller’s office has double-checked property valuations across the state, which help determine how much school districts can levy in property taxes. But when state and county appraisers disagree, districts can end up with big holes in their budgets.

The House blocked school vouchers during this year’s regular lawmaking session, but a report released Friday shows some members might be willing to approve such a scaled-back version of the program that doesn’t compete with public schools for funds.

The small district’s apprenticeship program lets aspiring teachers earn a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification at no cost. In return, participants must work at the district for at least three years. Observers hope state lawmakers will use the program as a model for legislation.

Lawmakers this year didn’t approve extra money to help schools pay for raises despite having an unprecedented $32 billion surplus — even after Gov. Greg Abbott commissioned a task force last year to improve teacher pay and retention.

Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions.

After the previous, widely criticized program expired in December, lawmakers worked hard to craft a plan that won overwhelming support in both chambers.

Texas senators have latched education savings accounts to a school funding bill in a last-ditch effort to avoid a special session. But some House members are furious at the revamped version and have vowed not to let it become law.

During the floor debate for a plan to replace the expired Chapter 313 program, House members added that the new version of the incentive must require companies to pay higher wages and create stiffer penalties for noncompliance.

Lawmakers have already proposed directing billions of dollars to schools so they can lower property taxes and pay for safety upgrades. But House Bill 100 would be the first to increase the amount of money districts receive to raise teacher pay and cover the actual costs of educating students.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has embraced Senate Bill 8, which will get its first committee hearing Wednesday. But House Speaker Dade Phelan hasn’t made school choice legislation a priority.

For the first time, Abbott makes it clear which policy he supports. Bills that would allow parents to get state money to send their kids to schools outside of the state’s public education system have been floated previously, but top lawmakers believe the policies will pass this session.

Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.

As legislators begin to debate their public education priorities, the Charles Butt Foundation released a poll Tuesday showing Texans are mostly supportive of their public schools but are split on voucher-like programs.

Districts like Pflugerville ISD, which is struggling with a $12 million deficit and weighing school closures, say the pandemic and rising inflation have eroded the value of the state’s last effort to overhaul its public education finance system.

State higher education leaders are pushing for the changes as community colleges face greater workforce demands and financial pressures. The commission’s report now goes to lawmakers, who are expected to file legislation on the matter next session.

State lawmakers will tell you they hate property taxes as much as anyone. But the state itself doesn’t levy the tax — local governments do. And lowering it in a meaningful way would require state officials to raise taxes or cut programs. For them, talking about it is easier than doing something.

If two propositions pass, the state will increase school funding to make up for revenues lost from a decrease in property taxes.

Tax relief for property owners joins a packed to-do list for Texas lawmakers — which includes redistricting, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and a spending plan for $16 billion in federal stimulus dollars.