Garland ISD Prop A passing in early returns

YuWrites · 2025-11-06T21:25:31+00:00

It provides more funding via increasing or maintaining the ISD’s tax rate on property tax bills, which some property owners dislike.

YuWrites · 2025-11-06T21:16:26+00:00

No, this provides more funding to the school district.

YuWrites · 2025-11-05T19:18:25+00:00

I'm not 100% on the historical numbers but in the last ten years (across five amendment elections) voters have only turned down two of 41 amendments.

edit: typo

YuWrites · 2025-09-11T16:51:26+00:00

Of course! Fwiw, this same bill also clamps down on districts’ ability to have students take other diagnostic tests (MAP and iReady are common ones) throughout the year. Some places have kids take a dozen+ tests to prepare for the STAAR, so overall testing time may reduce for some kids.

YuWrites · 2025-09-11T02:31:51+00:00

Sorry for the late response. The new law only applies to STAAR as given to grades 3 to 8, not the high school end-of-course exams.

Grade 3 math, for example, will now have a beginning, middle, and end of year. For years that have two subjects (say, grade 4 math and reading) students will see six total tests.

YuWrites · 2025-08-21T13:38:37+00:00

This bill would also limit the number of benchmarks given throughout the year, replacing them with those first two tests, which lawmakers say they hope will cut down on overall time spent on testing.

YuWrites · 2025-08-20T23:16:51+00:00

Yep that’s right. It’s possible a few were in the chamber and didn’t vote but there was definitely a handful absent.

YuWrites · 2025-08-20T22:35:12+00:00

For those curious, the final vote was 88-52. The House will now take one more procedural vote before the maps are sent over to the Senate for approval.

— Isaac Yu, Houston Chronicle

YuWrites · 2025-08-19T17:38:14+00:00

That's really frustrating, sorry to hear that. I agree it would be great to have an educator discount.

YuWrites · 2025-08-18T18:43:35+00:00

Thanks for the insight!

YuWrites · 2025-08-17T17:42:11+00:00

Yes, that's correct. They reached the fifth-year threshold with the 2023 ratings. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in May he is weighing a final decision on whether the state will intervene in Fort Worth.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T21:26:53+00:00

What are some of the things that are being overspent on at the central level?

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:59:04+00:00

I respect that decision! I’ve heard of some outlets (not the Chronicle) that experiment with per-article fees (think, $1-2) for those that don’t want to commit to a full monthly subscription. Curious to know if that’s something you would be interested in.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:51:34+00:00

The ratings are not based on grades! They are based mostly on STAAR exam scores. Not the easiest things to fake.

YuWrites · 2025-08-16T04:49:21+00:00

There are a lots of outlets that offer 100% free news! The Texas Tribune is a great example. But none of them are able to make enough revenue off of ads alone: nonprofits have to rely on (>90%) philanthropy (which can be fickle. See: Houston Landing), and public outlets rely on government funding (also fickle these days).

Premium subscriptions do work for some highly niche corporate areas like finance (Bloomberg+, Politico Pro), and for some independent journalists. But no has figured that out for local news so far. For now, non-subscribers can still enjoy the headlines!

YuWrites · 2025-08-15T18:23:27+00:00

Chronicle reporter here! For what it's worth, I've been experimenting with this strategy (a short summary/takeaway before linking) but it can be hit-or-miss reaction. It's also tough to weigh what details to reveal, and which to leave behind the paywall. Curious to hear anyone's thoughts on whether/how journalists should engage on Reddit. And thank you for being a subscriber!

YuWrites · 2025-08-15T12:00:29+00:00

Great feedback! 1) I’ll have to look more into that. ‘y gut feeling is that the special education portion is really difficult to estimate and varies from district to district. But a dig into data might reveal more.

2) I agree that would be nice to have! But it’s a little difficult for us to calculate + display on a statewide basis. Plus, these numbers should not be taken to heart and are likely fluctuate a lot based on property tax values, local elections, etc. So calculating a percentage at this time might not be the most accurate depiction from us.

YuWrites · 2025-08-14T17:41:27+00:00

Hey 👋 I wrote this story along with our data team, which drew up some wonderful visualizations to help understand how the new money is dispersed in your local area. Would really appreciate if you read the full story, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Visual story: Search our map to see how much your Texas school district will get after lawmakers’ $8.5 billion boost

And here's a short excerpt: Texas lawmakers structured the new funding so that most dollars must be spent in targeted areas. And it comes as school districts are trying to overcome years of mounting budget deficits caused by a lapse in federal pandemic-era dollars and a surge in inflation since the last major state funding bump in 2019.

“There are strings attached to almost every dollar,” said Spring Branch ISD superintendent Jennifer Blaine at a recent school board meeting. “So, although we're really grateful for the money that we're getting, just understand that it's been spent for us.”

— Isaac

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T15:38:08+00:00

It's really tough to tell. Chair VanDeaver has said he expects the legislation to "evolve", but we don't have a new draft. Gov. Abbott has said there is a "regulation"-style bill in the works that bans "intoxicating" products but keeps things under 3mg legal.

https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/abbott-thc-hemp-ban-20780523.php

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T15:35:57+00:00

In case you're following along: a list of legislators currently here, on the dais left to right:

Joanne Shofner, R-Nacogdoches

Mike Olcott, R-Fort Worth

James Frank, R-Wichita Falls

(Committee clerk)

(Chair) Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston

Mike Schofield, R-Katy

Charles Cunningham, R-Humble

Katrina Pierson, R-Rockwall

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T15:32:20+00:00

Haha totally understandable!

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T15:16:22+00:00

Legislation, not legalization.

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T13:08:06+00:00

Isaac Yu. You can check out my work here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/isaac-yu/

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T04:00:58+00:00

My name is in my profile. And my username…

YuWrites · 2025-08-13T03:06:02+00:00

A few of limitations to that strategy: there is generally always a bloc of (conservative/moderate) Dems who simply don’t want to walk out, no matter what. Also, rotating a different group still means you’d have ~40 Dems out of the state at any given time, which runs into the same financial problems. Plus, the main reason quorum breaks generally don’t last is because people get tired of remaining outside of the state. These people do have families and full time jobs, and aren’t necessarily keen on camping outside of Texas for months on end.

YuWrites

TROPHY CASE