Tag Archives: David Thompson

Re-interview with David Thompson

Last year, I published an interview with attorney David Thompson, who has worked with HISD for a long time on legislative and financial matters, including on the endless litigation over school finance, to discuss the November referendum on recapture. He … Continue reading

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Where we begin with school finance

A nice overview from the Trib on school finance, where the problems are many and the budget situation is non-optimal. The current system is held together by a number of short-term fixes that have not been updated or reformed in … Continue reading

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Interview with David Thompson

You’re probably aware of the HISD referendum on the ballot this fall, which authorizes the Board of Trustees to pay $162 million to the state of Texas to comply with recapture, a/k/a Robin Hood laws. There’s a lot of opposition … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: In case you didn’t hear us the first time

The Chron reiterates its opposition to the HISD recapture referendum. Statewide property taxes are unconstitutional in Texas, but don’t tell that to the legislators in Austin. For decades, the Legislature has been shifting its obligation to fund public education to … Continue reading

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School finance ruling expected soon

Hold onto your hats. For decades, the state’s 1,000-plus school districts vied against one another for a bigger piece of the financial pie. Now two-thirds of state districts have joined forces to say the system is unfair because it doesn’t … Continue reading

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House will address school finance

Good. With a plan that would add $3 billion to the state’s public education budget, the Texas House has decided to take on school finance reform this legislative session. As he announced a deal Wednesday that would put $800 million … Continue reading

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HISD should not be on the hook for North Forest’s liabilities

Come on! Fourteen months after the Texas Education Agency ordered Houston ISD to take over the long-troubled North Forest school district, some unexpected disputes over funding have surfaced. The Houston school board has authorized its attorneys to challenge a Texas … Continue reading

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Motion to recuse Judge Dietz denied

Good. State District Judge John Dietz will not be forced off Texas’ ongoing school finance case, a San Antonio judge ruled Monday, handing a victory to school districts suing the state over what they call an unconstitutional lack of adequate … Continue reading

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State wants judge removed from school finance case

Keep an eye on this. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Monday sought to remove the judge presiding over the public school finance case, contending that his impartiality is in question due to email exchanges with lawyers that filed the … Continue reading

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So where does the school finance lawsuit stand?

Though Judge John Dietz issued a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the school finance lawsuit back in February, he still hasn’t written his full decision yet. That’s because he wanted to see what the Legislature did this session, … Continue reading

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We have a long history of screwing public schools in this state

I’ve been meaning to post about this Texas Observer story about the current status of school finance, the litigation challenging it, and the story of how we got here. Here’s a little local angle to illustrate one of the many … Continue reading

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School finance lawsuit #5

The plaintiffs keep on coming. A lawsuit by a small group of parents claims Texas is not getting enough bang for its educational buck, and asks the state’s courts to address inefficiencies in how education funding is spent. Attorneys plan … Continue reading

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Don’t go counting school finance lawsuit money yet

The state of Texas is very likely to have to do something about school finance soon, but “soon” is not the same as “right now”. Houston ISD counsel David Thompson was exuding confidence Saturday that Texas school districts will prevail … Continue reading

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A field guide to the school finance lawsuits

The Trib has a handy overview of the school finance lawsuits – who the plaintiffs are, who their lawyers are, and on what grounds they are suing. Among other things, it shows that I was correct in saying that there … Continue reading

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At last, school finance lawsuit number 4

The fourth and presumably final school finance lawsuit was filed just before the holiday weekend. The state’s largest school districts, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks, have filed a lawsuit claiming the public education system is inadequate and inequitable, the fourth such … Continue reading

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And then there were three

Three school finance lawsuits, that is. Flanked by Edgewood Superintendent Jose Cervantes, parents, students and community leaders from Texas districts, MALDEF attorney David Hinojosa highlighted three key claims in its suit at a press conference Tuesday. The lawsuit claims the … Continue reading

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More schools join the lawsuits

Lubbock: The Lubbock Independent School District announced Monday they will join the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition in an equity lawsuit against the state. Simply put, LISD is receiving less money per student because they are one of the … Continue reading

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More school districts looking at school finance lawsuit

From San Antonio. Trustees of the area’s two largest school districts — North East and Northside — on Tuesday deliberated about joining a lawsuit against the state over what some consider to be an inadequate and inequitable education funding system. … Continue reading

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Another school finance lawsuit update

The Trib brings some news about the impending school finance lawsuits. Yes, lawsuits – there are two in the works. The Equity Center’s lawsuit will focus on fairness, attacking the target revenue system established in 2006 when lawmakers reduced the … Continue reading

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RIP, David Thompson

What a terrible shock. We loyal patrons of Murder by the Book, Houston’s go-to place for all things murder and mystery, are devastated to learn of David Thompson’s sudden passing yesterday. David, a Murder by the Book fixture for 21 … Continue reading

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