This week we start with news from the Legislature and then move into the area districts, with a lot from Fort Worth ISD.
- Texas Tribune: Texas School Districts Slam the Senate’s School Finance Plan. The Senate version of the funding bill raises the per-student allotment by only $95.
- Dallas Observer: Opinion: Texas Public Schools Aren’t Sunday Schools. Mickey Dollens and Ryan Dudley write about all the legal and constitutional problems with putting the Ten Commandments in every room in the public schools.
- Dallas Morning News: Will Texas pass paid teacher training to fix ‘pipeline crisis’? In the school year that just ended, 12% of teachers in Texas public schools were uncertified. The question is about residency training, basically apprenticeship under a veteran teacher for a full year, and whether the state will pay for it ($20,000 per resident, plus $2000 bonus for the mentor). This being Texas, I expect Betteridge’s law to apply.
- DMN: Texas schools should get more flexibility on student discipline, Senate decides. Background in this article from the Texas Tribune: Classroom violence went up in Texas after the pandemic. Is more discipline the answer?
- Texas Tribune: Texas lawmakers push to enforce election transparency law after newsrooms found school districts failed to comply. This is about campaign finance reports. A lot of districts didn’t post or didn’t have the information because the didn’t know they were supposed to put them online. In a time when school board elections are drawing a lot of money from groups like Patriot Mobile, knowing who financed which candidates is valuable.
- Dallas Observer: Texas Students Use Their Voice to Combat Student Paper Censorship. Unsurprisingly, just like at the university level, high school journalists are upsetting their administrations and they have friends in the Lege.
- Star-Telegram: Florida expanded school vouchers two years ago. What can it tell us about Texas? School districts are feeling financial pressure and private schools are booming, unsurprisingly. But public school performance also improved.
- Texas Observer: Texas Already Gives Public Ed Dollars to Private Operators. Here’s How That Worked Out. There are a lot of red flags even in the clearly well-intentioned partnerships described in this article. And it’s pretty clear that not all of the partnerships were well-intentioned instead of designed to make money. I’m pleased to note that my state Senator proposed an alternative to turning over public schools to private operators.
- DMN: Pay raises for Dallas ISD teachers, staff approved in next year’s budget. The budget next year is expected to be $1.9 billion.
- Star-Telegram: TEA takeover led to academic gains but also turmoil in Houston. Is Fort Worth next? Pretty interesting, especially if you’ve been following the HISD takeover saga as so many of my Houston friends have been. If you only click through to read one of these links, let it be this one.
- Fort Worth Report: Here’s why Fort Worth ISD is bracing for an uncertain funding year in its next budget. They have a $17.6 carryover from the 2024-25 year, property value issues (you may remember that Tarrant County Appraisal District only wants to revise values every other year), and declining enrollment.
- Three on Fort Worth ISD’s decision to close 18 schools over the next few years. First from the Star-Telegram: Fort Worth ISD board approves plan to close 18 schools over four years; second from the Fort Worth Report: Fort Worth ISD students plead to save schools before board approves closures; and the Star-Telegram again: Why is Fort Worth ISD closing 18 schools over the next four years? What to know.
- Two on Mansfield ISD’s decision to extend the contract of their superintendent: one from the Star-Telegram: Mansfield ISD school board extends superintendent’s contract, and one from the Fort Worth Report: Departing Mansfield ISD trustees approve superintendent evaluation 7 days before exit. Three of the board’s seven members were on the way out; they say that it’s only fair for the superintendent to be judged by the board members who have been working with her. They extended her contract an additional year, to 2030, and increased her annual longevity bonus from $20,000 to $35,000.
- Dallas Observer: As Plano Schools Close, Parents and Faculty Look Back, Wonder About the Future. They’re only closing four schools: three elementary schools and one middle school.
- Star-Telegram: Carroll ISD parents keep pressure on trustees over Principal Ryan Wilson’s contract. Parents and students are unhappy about the board firing and reassigning their favorite educators, as mentioned in previous editions of this roundup.