The HISD superintendent spoke at a news conference after a report was published detailing that purchases had been made without board approval.  Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles's administration failed to get board approval for contracts worth about $870 million over the past 16 months, according to district leadership."Prior to winter break, we discovered that we weren't following all the policies related to the procurement process," Miles said in a video posted on HISD YouTube TV. "One important step in board approval, and that step we missed." view article

On Wednesday night, the Eanes Independent School District Board of Trustees passed a resolution to close Valley View Elementary in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. Eanes ISD said the decision was part of a broader effort to help address a projected $3.3 million budget deficit in 2024-2025, that deficit will grow to $6.3 million in 2025-2026. The district cited this was due to a decline in student enrollment and a lack of funding from the state for public education. view article

Deep in the heart of Texas, old-fashioned oil and gas still pays the bills in a major way, even as the state’s economy diversifies into other activities. As the U.S. churned out record levels of fossil fuels in 2024, the Lone Star State’s oil and gas industry poured over $27 billion worth of royalties into state and local coffers, according to data from the Texas Oil & Gas Association’s annual energy view article

On Wednesday night, the Eanes Independent School District Board of Trustees passed a resolution to close down Valley View Elementary in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, according to a press release from the district. view article

The Keller school board has apparently decided to talk about a controversial proposal to split the district behind closed doors instead of during a public meeting that had been scheduled for next week. The board’s president, Charles Randklev, announced on Thursday that a specially called open meeting will now be an executive session closed to the public. “The Keller ISD Board of Trustees will hold a special executive meeting on January 16th to discuss the possibility of reshaping our district,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “Our North Star has and always will be our students and educators.” Keller is the fourth-largest district in Tarrant County and is considered one of the most desirable for its quality of schools. It has more than 34,000 students, including many living in the cities of Fort Worth, Colleyville, Haltom City, Hurst, North Richland Hills, Southlake, Watauga and Westlake. While some of its schools serve wealthy neighborhoods, others are in lower-income, working class communities. view article

On a Thursday morning last May, about a hundred people gathered in the atrium of the Ohio Capitol building to join in Christian worship. The “Prayer at the Statehouse” was organized by an advocacy group called the Center for Christian Virtue, whose growing influence was symbolized by its new headquarters, directly across from the capitol. It was also manifest in the officials who came to take part in the event: three state legislators and the ambitious lieutenant governor, Jon Husted. view article

Just before the Crystal City Independent School District let out for winter break, the district laid off 32 employees. The district told KSAT that none of the layoffs included any contractual employees but instead, “staff members in various non-contractual positions.” Victoria Noel, a woman who grew up in Crystal City and was set to move back to the district, said she’s communicated with teachers impacted by the cuts. view article

Two years after education advocates unsuccessfully pushed Texas lawmakers to increase the state's per-student funding by $1,000 to keep up with inflationary cost increases, new inflation-adjusted figures from the federal government suggest that that base level finance should climb by about $1,400. view article

This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso. The Socorro Independent School District used more than half its savings between 2022 and 2024, and may need to spend more to cover its expenses. view article

Projections indicate Coppell ISD total enrollment could dip by 1,970 students by the 2034-35 school year.  The decline is due to limited future development and housing options for families with children and an over 300-student disparity between the 2024-25 graduating class and the 2024-25 kindergarten class, said Zonda Education demographer, Rocky Gardiner at a Dec. 9 meeting. The district has about 1,036 seniors and 711 kindergarten students.  “Statewide we have a kindergarten challenge; it's not just Coppell, it's happening everywhere,” Gardiner said. view article

Austin ISD officials and a community budget committee have spent the last few months working on a plan to eliminate a $92 million budget deficit over the next few years, exploring how to reduce spending, while minimizing any direct impact to the classroom. Superintendent Matias Segura underscored that goal during a school board meeting Thursday. view article

The North East Independent School District is looking to consolidate three campuses in an effort to combat declining enrollment. “I take our responsibility to our children and community seriously,” NEISD Superintendent Dr. Sean Maika wrote in an announcement sent out on Tuesday. “And while this is a difficult process, we must be good stewards of our taxpayer money. We, like other school districts across the state, have been losing enrollment, and have seen no increase in revenue since 2019. Consequently, some of our campuses are not being fully utilized and are inefficient.” view article

Five Lewisville elementary schools will close next year as the North Texas district confronts its declining enrollment. view article

As the Austin Independent School District faces a $92 million deficit-- district leaders have laid out ways to reduce expenses. In a virtual town hall Monday evening, AISD Chief Financial Officer, Katrina Montgomery, discussed possible solutions to their financial woes but first explained how the deficit reached dire levels. view article

Monday evening the Lewisville ISD Board of Trustees voted to permanently close five elementary schools. Not all votes were unanimous, but all carried. Several campuses will also undergo rezoning as part of the plan. The following changes will take effect for the 2025-26 school year. view article

Lewisville ISD board members voted Monday night to close five of its elementary schools, a cost-saving measure officials say the district needs as student enrollment continues to decline and state funding for schools is uncertain. It was a highly emotional meeting, with more than a dozen people taking to the lectern during the public comment section to beg elected leaders to delay a school consolidation plan. Some speakers joined board members in directing rage at the state Legislature, accusing politicians by name of starving public schools and hurting neighborhoods. Gov. Greg Abbott, state Sen. Tan Parker and state Reps. Ben Bumgarner and Mitch Little were all named as bad actors. view article

The Lewisville Independent School District’s board of trustees will once again discuss plans to close some schools due to falling enrollment and budget problems. It’s been the same story at a number of school districts around North Texas. And it’s never welcome news for parents, students, teachers, and support staff at the schools that are affected. view article

The Lubbock ISD School Board approved consolidation measures impacting at least six schools in the district on Wednesday night, after hearing about an hour and a half of public comment. The board approved the consolidation of Overton Elementary School into Rush Elementary School and O.L. Slaton Middle School into Dunbar College Academy and Atkins Middle School. view article

The number of students receiving special education services in Cy-Fair ISD has risen nearly 86% since the 2014-15 school year, while the district’s total enrollment increased by less than 5%, according to Texas Education Agency data. CFISD officials attribute this jump to Texas expanding special education qualifications. District administration has hired more staff to keep up with student evaluations and to ensure students receive the services they need, Chief Academic Officer Linda Macias said in an email. view article

The Lewisville ISD board is meeting Monday night and the "School Retirement and Boundary Adjustment Proposal" is the hot topic up for discussion. Facing a budget shortage and declining enrollment, the district’s Community Efficiency Committee and board considered possible solutions and put a plan forward. view article

The Fort Worth ISD school board approved just over $14 million in spending at its Nov. 12 meeting. The two largest purchases were related to campus operations. Trustees approved the district’s school resource officer program for the 2024-25 school year for $5.9 million and the purchase of audio-visual displays for up to $1.78 million. Trustee Kevin Lynch was absent. view article

Regional colleges rely more on tuition revenue to operate than flagship campuses. Gov. Greg Abbott’s desire to pause increases could create tight financial conditions.  “Texans face significant rising costs due to inflation,” Abbott wrote. “When inflation and other economic pressures burden household budgets, our public universities must take every step possible to ease the financial burden on our students and their families.”  But without additional funding from the Legislature, Abbott’s desire to freeze tuition at public universities for another two years could create a tight budget situation for many of them, especially regional institutions that rely more on tuition revenue compared to flagship campuses. That’s because they have smaller budgets and endowments, fewer research grants and fewer deep-pocketed donors to make massive gifts. Faculty and higher education experts say they’re worried the state won’t step up to make up the difference. view article

Eight El Paso Independent School District elementary schools will be shut down starting next school year after the Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted in favor of the closures. Carlos Rivera, Lamar, Newman, Putnam, Rusk, and Zavala elementaries will close their doors next school year, with Stanton and Travis elementaries closing in the 2026-27 school year under the approved plan. view article

Michael Wilson reports that trustees in the Houston Independent School District are considering selling 19 properties to bridge fiscal gaps.   This comes after 58 percent of voters rejected a massive debt proposal on the November ballot that would have cost taxpayers $9 billion, including interest and principal.    view article

Last Thursday evening, Erikah Daley sat in a school cafeteria poring over a map of a large swathe of eastern Fort Worth, trying to figure out which schools to keep and which ones to shut down. view article

The Houston Independent School District board is considering selling nearly 20 district properties. The discussions come after voters rejected a massive $4.4 billion school bond proposal on Election Day. It was a long Thursday night for board members as they talked about selling the real estate as well as listening to legal advice in the wake of the failed bond proposal. view article

“I will ensure college affordability remains a top priority for the state as we head into the next legislative session,” wrote Abbott.   view article

Facing budget shortfalls, Victoria ISD didn't have the funds to send band, cheer and dance teams to Friday's football playoff game—until the community stepped in.  There was good news and bad news last Saturday. The good news was that the Victoria West football team was going to the playoffs. The bad news was that it would be without its band, cheer or dance teams.    view article

Gov. Greg Abbott expressed confidence that Texas lawmakers would approve private school vouchers and increase funding for public schools during the 2025 legislative session, which begins Jan. 14. The details: A voucher program would give families public money to send their children to private schools, which opponents argue would strip public schools of critical funds. Abbott said Nov. 6 that he has the votes to pass such a program after several pro-voucher Republicans ousted incumbents in the March primary election and Republicans flipped two historically Democratic House seats on Election Day. view article

Lubbock ISD Superintendent Kathy Rollo said the district and its Future Focus Committee are listening to community feedback amid ongoing discussions about possible campus closures and consolidations. The superintendent sat down with members of local media last week. She told reporters district officials are engaging parents and teachers as the school board and the advisory committee work to find a solution to declining enrollment and stagnant funding. view article

La Porte Independent School District has received its 22nd consecutive “A” rating for “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ School FIRST financial accountability rating system. The rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of La Porte ISD’s financial management and reporting system. The district scored a total of 98 out of 100. This is the 22nd year of School FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 and amendments under House Bill 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013. The primary goal of School FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system. -30- view article

In several Republican-led states, popular sentiment on the voucher issue has been overridden by the efforts of special interest groups and powerful governors who have enacted sweeping voucher programs that often benefit affluent families.   view article

Lubbock ISD is explaining why some schools have been removed from consideration, when it comes to consolidations for the next academic year. Last week, the district announced it was removing four elementary schools from the list of possibilities, as it works to consider the district’s future. Facing declining enrollment and a lack of funding, Superintendent Kathy Rollo says the conversation surrounding that future must happen now. She says the district has to do something to maintain its rich student experience, while in a deficit budget. It has slowed this process down some, but Rollo says there are important deadlines the district has to consider. view article

The lottery, mired in controversy, is up for sunset review in 2025   view article

Enrollment growth in Leander ISD is projected to continue slowing over the next decade, according to a recent demographic update by Population and Survey Analysts, or PASA. The decelerated growth comes as older grade levels are being replaced by smaller incoming kindergarten classes, and more students are attending charter schools and other educational options, PASA President Stacey Tepera said at an Oct. 24 board of trustees meeting. view article