AUSTIN— Today, the House Committee on Public Education unanimously advanced HB 3, a $9 billion school finance and property tax reform bill.
Kara Belew, senior education policy advisor with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, made the following statement:
“In a historic move, HB 3 requires that school boards can only hold tax increase elections after they have conducted an efficiency audit to determine if the district is using its existing taxpayer funds wisely. Additionally, in the short-term, HB 3 provides Texans with desperately needed property tax relief and allows school districts to keep more of their recapture money.
“In addition, the bill recognizes that effective teachers can be identified and paid more to serve in high-need classrooms. HB 3 also requires school boards to publicly adopt and monitor early literacy and math student outcome goals.”