Please make plans to join us at the TASA/TASB Convention for our annual membership meeting. We will meet Saturday, September 24 at 2:15 p.m. at the Marriott Riverwalk.

The August 15 recapture payment deadline has come and gone for another school year, and this year saw schools paying a record-breaking amount to the State. Prior to the payment deadline, the Coalition distributed this press release on the topic to media outlets throughout the state.

It's a disturbing trend of growth--one that completely eclipses the rate of inflation. In 10 year's time, recapture has grown from $1.1 billion to now $3.2 billion. That means that while inflation has increased by 29% in 10 years, recapture has increased by almost 200%.

Some have noticed the number of "Chapter 49ers," or districts subject to recapture, has been growing as well. This graph includes estimates for 2023 and shows us two things: 1) While HB 3 cut the number of districts paying recapture by 40% initially, that number has grown again, by almost 30%; 2) When considerably less districts are subject to and paying recapture and yet the total amount reaches an all-time high, that means the districts that are paying are paying a lot more.

If you are a district proposing a VATR Election this November, we are pleased to provide you with a new resource--a Toolkit intended to help districts proposing VATR Elections effectively communicate with the local community. The toolkit provides information, guidance, and examples. Thanks to our friends at New West Communications for their work on this project. Check it out here: Communications Toolkit for School Districts Proposing VATR Elections

This toolkit has been updated to include guidance on how to address explaining the numbers required to appear on the ballot in regard to the increase in the district's revenue which do not reflect the either the accompanying increase in recapture or decline in state aid that a district also experiences. For the sake of transparency and providing the public with the complete picture required for understanding, this information must be provided before individuals enter the polling place.

And in case you're wondering...yes, a similar toolkit for bond elections is coming soon.

Here is the latest information on legislative committees and commissions we are tracking. Believe it or not, but we are 140 days away from the 140-day 88th Legislative Session. It will be here before we know it.

The Commission is scheduled for a double-header this week, meeting both today, August 23 and tomorrow, August 24. Today the Commission will hear testimony on virtual models and special populations. On Wednesday, the Commission will hear from Texas superintendents Annette Tielle of Del Valle ISD and Elizabeth Fagen of Humble ISD. Click here to watch the Commission meeting live.

The House Ways & Means Committee will meet on September 8 to hear testimony on interim charges related to topics including Chapter 313 economic development tax incentives and property taxes, including property tax appraisals

The House Public Education Committee took up school finance on July 25, and Texas School Coalition President Kyle Lynch provided testimony on behalf of the Coalition. Then they met on August 9 regarding assessments and accountability. The committee's final interim hearing will be a joint hearing with the House Higher Education Committee on the topic of teacher workforce recruitment, retention, and preparation on Tuesday, September 20.

Remember that you can always check our hearing tracker to stay up-to-date on which interim charges have been heard and when. Not too much of the interim remains, and we've highlighted in yellow to indicate the topics committees have not yet scheduled hearings to cover.

The Coalition has adopted our priorities for the upcoming 88th Legislative Session in 2023.

You can take a look at the priorities on our website to get more information behind each of those statements. And if you are interested in even more details about what all of this means, we have expanded further with an itemized list of priorities under each of those headings.