For those of you planning to attend our Legislative Planning Workshop, please remember that the deadline to secure a discounted rate on a room at the DoubleTree hotel is THIS SUNDAY, May 22. Click here to make a room reservation before time runs out.

Speaking of the Legislative Planning Workshop, it's only a few weeks away: June 8-9 in Dallas. We will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, break late in the afternoon and then reconvene the following morning and conclude by 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 9. We'll assess the current state of affairs, make some projections about what to expect, and work to make plans and establish priorities.

Any administrator or trustee from our member districts are welcome to attend. Please click on the link below to register and let us know you will attend.

There are a lot of elections to keep track of these days.

Earlier this month, we had elections for trustees, bonds, and constitutional amendments. In case you missed it, you can access our spreadsheet of bond election results from May 2022. In that election, voters approved two amendments to the Texas Constitution regarding property taxes. In proposition 1, voters agreed to give the elderly and disabled on the frozen levy the same tax relief that other property taxpayers received in 2019. In proposition 2, voters increased the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. Both of these changes will cause school districts to collect less in property taxes, with additional state funding to compensate for the reduced property tax collections at the district level. This will cause a slight reduction in recapture--especially if you are comparing it to "what would have been" instead of comparing it to the previous year.

Next up is the Democratic and Republican Primary Run-off Election, which takes place on Tuesday. Today is the final day of early voting in that election. Remember that if you voted in a primary back in March, then you may only vote in that party's run-off election. If you didn't vote in March, you may still vote in Tuesday's election, and you are free to vote in whichever party's primary you wish.

What's on the ballot and why should you care? Well, if you want your vote to matter, now is your chance! Historically speaking, the voter turnout for the primary run-off is the lowest voter turnout of almost any election. That means your vote counts even more than usual. And important decisions will be made on Tuesday regarding which names will appear on the ballot in November. If you're voting in the Democratic run-off, you may be voting between candidates running for Congress, and you will certainly be choosing the candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, and quite possibly your representative in the Texas House. If you're voting in the Republican run-off, you may also be choosing your candidate for Congress or the Texas Legislature and you will definitely be voting for your choice to be the candidate to run for Attorney General, Land Commissioner, and Railroad Commissioner. For more information, see voteTexas.gov.

Finally, there is another election coming up on November 8, 2022. We will elect the leaders to fill every state office that exists--from the Governor to every single seat in the Texas Legislature and the State Board of Education. Additionally, some school districts may have bond propositions or propositions seeking voter approval to exceed the Voter-Approved Tax Rate (VATR). If you are considering one of those school district elections in November, you may want to check out the resources below:

Here is latest information on the legislative committees, commissions and a task force that we are tracking.

The Senate Committee on Finance will meet Monday, May 23, at 10:00 a.m. to take up the topic of property tax relief and tax exemptions. May 23 hearing notice. Christy Rome will testify on behalf of the Coalition at this hearing. Watch the hearing live.

The Senate Finance Committee will take up the topic of federal funds (including ESSER) on June 28. See the hearing notice.

The Senate Education Committee will conduct their first interim hearing under the new Chairman, Senator Brandon Creighton. The committee will take up their monitoring charges related to school finance and accelerated instruction. They will also study school district bond efficiency and homestead exemptions. See the May 24 hearing notice. Kyle Lynch will offer testimony on behalf the Coalition at this hearing. Watch live.

The House Committee on Public Education will meet again on Tuesday, May 24 to take up monitoring charges related to school finance, study effects of learning loss, and examine absenteeism, among other topics. See the May 24 hearing notice here. Kyle Lynch will deliver invited testimony on behalf of the Coalition at this hearing. Watch live.

This Commission met on April 27. Their next hearing will be Wednesday, May 25. They will address the topic of special populations. See the May 25 meeting notice.

This Commission last met on April 25 (summary). The date of their next hearing has not yet been announced.

The additional 24 members of this Task Force were announced this week. The Task Force will meet again on June 2. See the agenda for their June 2 meeting.