Tag Archives: Dan Huberty

“Shall” versus “may”

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing touches on a subject I’ve mentioned before. As concerns grow about the Texas Education Agency ousting the Houston Independent School District’s elected board, a question with major practical and political implications has emerged: Are state officials legally mandated … Continue reading →

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The Lege will get worse before it gets better

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. More than two dozen members of the Texas Legislature are retiring or running for a different seat next year, creating a slew of vacancies that could push both chambers to become redder … Continue reading →

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Comings and goings

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading →

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HISD may have a reprieve

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For one year, if this bill passes as is and if the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene. The Texas House advanced a meaty education bill Tuesday that dramatically reduces the stakes of state standardized tests in 2021-22 and gives Houston ISD … Continue reading →

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Anti-transgender sports bill revived

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Screw you, Harold Dutton. Democratic state Rep. Harold Dutton on Friday revived and helped advance a bill that would restrict transgender students from participating in school sports, in what appears to be a retaliatory effort directed at members of his … Continue reading →

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Funding weatherization

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this, with one caveat. A plan to help finance what will likely become mandatory power plant upgrades to withstand more extreme weather in the wake of the February power crisis received preliminary approval in the Texas House … Continue reading →

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Anti-trans sports bill will not make it out of committee

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but hardly enough. A bill that would dictate on which sports teams transgender athletes can compete in public schools was declared all but dead on Wednesday by Rep. Harold Dutton, the Public Education Committee chair who presided over an … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three to get started

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But first, why do endorsements, anyway? If newspapers are objective, why do you recommend candidates? Newspapers don’t endorse candidates. Editorial boards do. The editorial board is separate from the newsroom. It is made up of opinion journalists with wide-ranging expertise … Continue reading →

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The rough fiscal road for school districts

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna be bad. How bad remains the question. Coronavirus already has wreaked havoc on school districts — closing campuses for the remainder of the school year, shifting learning online, and exposing a wide digital divide between students who have … Continue reading →

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Where the primary action is

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on the Democratic side in Harris County. This should come as a surprise to no one. The crowded Harris County Democratic primary field reflects a new reality in Houston politics: With the county turning an even darker shade of … Continue reading →

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Bye bye, Bonnen

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. First-term Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Tuesday announced he will not seek reelection to the lower chamber in 2020 — completing a stunning fall for the Angleton Republican who enjoyed near unanimous support in the House just months … Continue reading →

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The tax swap is dead

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For this session, at least. Most likely, barring anything strange. State Rep. Dan Huberty, the top public education leader in the Texas House, postponed two items of legislation Tuesday that would pay for long-term, ongoing school district tax cuts by … Continue reading →

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Where goes the tax swap plan from here?

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the double down. Showing their usual united front, the state’s “Big Three” political leaders on Friday tried to remake their case for why the Texas Legislature should deliver on long-term, ongoing property tax relief before the session … Continue reading →

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More action on the school finance/property tax front

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Tuesday: The Texas House gave preliminary approval to a priority property tax reform package Tuesday, teeing it up for negotiations with the Senate and impelling the upper chamber to act on an omnibus school finance measure. Together, the education … Continue reading →

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Yes, they really are now pushing a sales tax for property tax swap

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Some bad ideas never die. Texas’ top three political leaders — Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen — threw their support Wednesday behind a proposal to increase the sales tax by one percentage point … Continue reading →

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House moves its school finance bill

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Step two of the process. The Texas House Public Education Committee unanimously signed off on a comprehensive $9 billion school finance and property tax reform bill Tuesday — but only after removing a controversial educator merit pay provision that had … Continue reading →

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Inevitably, we come back to a sales tax/property tax swap

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an idea we just can’t seem to quit. Texas lawmakers are considering an infusion of $9 billion to improve public schools and lower property taxes over the next two years. The additional $6.3 billion in the classroom is being … Continue reading →

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Senate files its school finance bill

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. On the night of the deadline to file bills this legislative session, Texas Senate leaders turned in their first crack at legislation designed to reform school finance — rounding out a series of proposals in the upper … Continue reading →

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Here comes the House school finance plan

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not surprisingly, they go bigger than the Senate. With Texas House lawmakers unveiling their long-awaited school finance proposal Tuesday and the Senate’s version likely close behind, teacher pay appears to be emerging as one of the biggest sticking points between … Continue reading →

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Dems propose their school finance bills

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to have a broad array of options. The Texas House Democratic Caucus laid out a $14.5 billion plan for school finance reform and property tax relief Thursday, releasing a list of priorities in advance of a key school … Continue reading →

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Here comes the latest school finance report

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I figure the smart money is always on efforts like this to fail, but you never know. After hours of discussion Wednesday, a state panel studying school finance stripped its final report of language that blamed the state for inadequate … Continue reading →

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Falling short on college readiness

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. A majority of students at the top-rated high schools in Texas are likely to need remedial course work when they get to college because they don’t score well enough on entrance exams, a Hearst Newspapers analysis of newly … Continue reading →

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Many more school districts are feeling the pinch

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not just HISD. Not by a long shot. For eight-straight years, Cypress-Fairbanks and Conroe ISDs earned the Texas Smart Schools Award, bestowed on school districts with prudent financial practices and high academic achievement. Now, Cypress-Fairbanks faces a $50 million deficit … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 5

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here and the full endorsements page is here. We finish with the Republican races with challenged incumbents. And the first thing to note is the … Continue reading →

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So is there a residency standard now?

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is curious. State Rep. Dan Huberty’s only primary challenger was on Friday declared ineligible to run to represent House District 127. In a summary judgment, Harris County District Court Judge Bill Burke declared Reginald C. Grant Jr. did not … Continue reading →

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School districts don’t need gift registries

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They need to have their needs met by the state. Texas school districts ravaged by Hurricane Harvey still need thousands of textbooks, dictionaries and other instructional resources, so the state’s education agency is borrowing a page from the wedding industry … Continue reading →

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Has Harvey changed anything politically?

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think it would, but it remains to be seen as far as I’m concerned. A month to the day after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, the reality of the storm was beginning to sink in on the minds … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect any STAAR slack

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, kids. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday morning that the state was not likely to let students displaced by Hurricane Harvey delay a required state test this school year — or to change the way school districts are … Continue reading →

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Smell ya later, Senate

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? The special legislative session is over — in one chamber, at least. The Texas House abruptly gaveled out Sine Die – the formal designation meaning the end of a session – on Tuesday evening after voting to … Continue reading →

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House passes school finance bills

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I doubt they’ll meet a different fate than they did in the regular session, but kudos anyway. The Texas House on Friday passed a package of bills that would put $1.8 billion into public schools and help out struggling small, … Continue reading →

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Halfway through the session

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The House is doing House things, and that’s fine. Brushing aside concerns that they are not moving swiftly enough to enact Gov. Greg Abbott’s 20-point agenda, Texas House members opened the second half of the special session Wednesday with a … Continue reading →

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House still opposes vouchers

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Keep on keeping on, y’all. The top House education leader said Sunday that “private school choice” is still dead in the lower chamber. “We only voted six times against it in the House,” House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty … Continue reading →

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Houston pension reform bill passes

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s done. The Texas House on Wednesday approved the controversial Senate version of a bill that aims to overhaul Houston’s failing pension funds — over the passionate objections of current and former firefighters. Senate Bill 2190, which passed in a … Continue reading →

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School finance bill is dead

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It started with this. State Rep. Dan Huberty said Wednesday that he would not accept the Senate’s changes to his school finance bill, launching a last-ditch effort to hammer out a compromise with less than a week left in the … Continue reading →

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