school finance

Corina Pannabecker (cq) teaches first grade at Ogden Elementary in San Antonio. Bexar County's school districts are among the most segregated in the state, with boundary lines historically drawn to consolidate resources. San Antonio ISD is working to create more socioeconomic and racial diversity through public school choice measures.

Texas is spending millions to bring the "portfolio model" to its schools. The strategy has led to teacher strikes in other states.

by Aliyya Swaby

The approach is intended to quickly cut down on the number of low-performing schools in the state. So far, Texas has seen mixed results.

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Texas State Capitol, June 12, 2017. State Capitol in the late afternoon on June 12, 2017.

Analysis: Texas doesn’t have an income tax — and isn’t getting one any time soon

Lawmakers want voters to replace the current constitutional hurdle to a personal income tax in Texas with a marginally higher one. Think of it as insurance against something that isn't likely to happen anyway.

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JoAnn Zavala, pre-K bilingual teacher at Hemphill Elementary, leads a short period of exercise on Sept. 5, 2019.

Texas is paying more for full-day pre-K. But some school districts are delaying.

by Aliyya Swaby

How are Texas school districts using state pre-K funding to expand educational options for 3- and 4-year-olds? It depends where you look.

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Texas put billions more into schools. Is that enough to help this high-poverty school district break out?

by Aliyya Swaby

A new superintendent at the helm of Edgewood Independent School District is trying to move the schools beyond their reputation of struggle and dysfunction.

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Bonham Elementary School in San Antonio on May 9, 2018.

With conflicting budget estimates, will Texas teachers get the pay raises they anticipated?

by Aliyya Swaby

Many school districts are seeing smaller gains from the state's school finance law than they predicted. Teachers are fighting to get bigger raises anyway.

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Analysis: What do Texas voters want? Meat and potatoes, apparently. And cleaner elections.

by Ross Ramsey

Texans like the Legislature better now. They're worried about elections. And they have mixed feelings about the country's most prominent politician. Some notes on the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

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As Texas overhauls schools, property taxes, voters wary, UT/TT Poll says

by Ross Ramsey

Texas lawmakers are boasting about ambitious education and property tax legislation they passed this year, but voters don't appear to be completely sold, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen at a press conference on the $11.6 billion school finance reform bill. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bil into law at Parmer Lane Elementary School in Austin on June 11, 2019.

Analysis: The Texas legislative session’s over. Now, all lawmakers have to do is sell it to voters.

by Ross Ramsey

Lawmakers are finished with the regular session and now enter the political season, figuring out how to discuss their work in a narrative voters will find appealing in next year's elections.

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Gov. Greg Abbott signs the $11.6 billion school finance bill into law while surrounded by lawmakers at Parmer Lane Elementary School in Austin on June 11, 2019.

Gov. Greg Abbott signs $11.6 billion school finance measure into law

by Patrick Svitek

The high-priority bill boosts per-student funding and reduces property taxes across the state.

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Speaker Dennis Bonnen during the Texas Fallen Heroes ceremony on May 25, 2019

“The right man at this point in Texas history”: How Dennis Bonnen led the Texas House

by Cassandra Pollock

Dennis Bonnen gaveled out on Monday with much of the same widespread support in the Texas House that accompanied his unanimous election to the speaker’s gavel in January.

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The House stands adjourned sine die on May 27, 2019.

TribCast: It's sine die time

by Emily Ramshaw and Michael Rey de Leon

On this week’s post-legislative session TribCast, Emily talks to Alexa, Aliyya and Emma about the kumbaya legislative session, the details of school finance reform and the fate of (now former) Texas Secretary of State David Whitley.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen before a press conference at the Governorâs Mansion on May 23, 2019.

To pass school finance and property tax bills, Texas’ legislative leaders chose cooperation over combativeness

by Cassandra Pollock and Emma Platoff

In the past, personalities got in the way of policy at the Texas Capitol. This year, state leaders refused to let that happen.

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House Speaker Dennis Bonnen signs paperwork on the House floor on May 25, 2019.

Texas House, Senate pass school finance bill mandating teacher raises and cutting taxes

by Aliyya Swaby

The $11.6 billion school finance and property tax reform bill is now poised to head to Gov. Greg Abbott.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen are joined by state legislators at a press conference at the Governorâs Mansion on May 23, 2019.

Analysis: Texas legislators had a successful session, but not a historic one

by Ross Ramsey

Lawmakers delivered on their promises of school finance and property tax reforms, agreeing to spend $11.6 billion on a combination of education changes and tax cuts. It's big, but is it really "transformative"?

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Corina Pannabecker teaches first grade at Ogden Elementary in San Antonio on April 30, 2018.

Teacher raises and all-day pre-K: Here's what's in the Texas Legislature's landmark school finance bill

by Aliyya Swaby

The $11.6 billion legislation is on a path to the governor's desk and includes property tax cuts, a hike in per-student funding and money to ease the state's reliance on the "Robin Hood" program.

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From left: Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; Gov. Greg Abbott; House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton; and Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, speak at a Jan 31, 2019, news conference addressing property tax reform.

Analysis: Texas lawmakers struggling to find a lovable tax

by Ross Ramsey

Even in a legislative session that began with estimates of a generous increase in state revenue, lawmakers spent a lot of time talking about big, big tax bills — all the way to the end.

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Buffalo ISD Superintendent Lacy Freeman drives a school bus because he can't find any qualified drivers in Buffalo.

Can pay raises help rural Texas districts like Buffalo retain teachers?

by Aliyya Swaby

Starting teacher pay in Buffalo is thousands below the state average, and it's hard to attract people from outside the small town. The district's superintendent hopes school finance reform will help.

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Analysis: No bills are finally dead yet, but some are starting to smell funny

by Ross Ramsey

One of the big bills of the session — a sales- for property-tax swap — was put on ice this week. Lots of other bills are ready for their post-session burials, too, but keep your eyes open. In the Texas Legislature, dead legislation has a way of coming back to life.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks from the dais in the Senate chamber on April 9, 2019.

Texas Senate approves school finance reform bill but opts not to fund it with a sales tax hike

by Aliyya Swaby

The chambers will need to negotiate how to give teachers pay raises, whether to adjust how students take standardized tests and how to provide long-term property tax relief for Texans.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen speak at a press conference regarding property taxes on May 1, 2019.

Analysis: Betting a whole legislative session on one big issue

by Ross Ramsey

The pieces are in place. There's a month to go. And the three leaders who bet big on school finance, education and property taxes are in a familiar place, imploring reluctant legislators to take the kinds of high-stakes votes that make and break political careers.

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