Topic: Policy

Property tax cap bill moves toward full Senate without answers to key questions about loss of local funding

Publish Date: February 12, 2019

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa questions SB 2 author Sen. Paul Bettencourt on why the tax cap should be as low as 2.5 percent. With no additional public testimony, the Senate Committee on Property Tax voted yesterday to advance a bill that will cripple local government budgets, including school districts. SB 2 would cap property tax revenue growth at 2.5 percent,...

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Senate budget discussion highlights need for more public education funding

Publish Date: February 11, 2019

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee heard from the Legislative Budget Board and the Texas Education Agency about the Senate’s proposed budget. Unlike the House budget proposal, the Senate provides less new funding for schools, and the funding it does provide is contingent on a classroom teacher salary increase ($3.7 billion) and legislation to slow growth in local property taxes and...

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House committee to talk school finance tomorrow, and Texas AFT will be there to make sure your voice is heard

Publish Date: February 11, 2019

Texas AFT President Louis Malfaro will testify in the House Public Education hearing tomorrow on the recommendations from the Texas Commission on School Finance. As you may recall from previous Hotlines, the commission included a recommendation for teacher “merit pay”—what the commission report calls a “proposed educator effectiveness allotment.” That’s a fancy way of saying a pay raise for a...

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