Texas DPS to Provide Back to School Security to Uvalde ISD
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the deployment of 30 Texas Department of Public Safety officers to Uvalde schools for the coming school year.
“The beginning of a new school year should be an exciting time for students and teachers, and the State of Texas is working to provide that for the Uvalde community,” said Governor Abbott.
“As a new school year begins, we must ensure students, parents, and all dedicated school personnel can look forward to new opportunities to learn and grow. Texas will keep working to provide all available support and resources to the Uvalde community as they continue to heal.”
The added law enforcement presence was granted at the request of Uvalde Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell.
“We know going back to school will be especially challenging for many in Uvalde,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw.
“The Texas Department of Public Safety is committed to working with the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District to ensure each child, parent, and teacher feels safe and protected during this difficult time. There is no task more important than this.”
The State of Texas has already allocated over $100 million in emergency funding to Texas schools for measures such as bulletproof shields for school law enforcement and mental health services.
State leaders also appropriated $5 million to the Hill Country Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Center to specifically service Uvalde.
List of Republicans Petitioning to Remove Libertarian Opponents from the Ballot
About two dozen Texas Republicans filed a lawsuit this week asking the state Supreme Court to order the removal of their Libertarian Party opponents on the grounds of unmet requirements to qualify for the ballot. A similar petition was issued in 2020 alleging the same issues but was rejected for not being filed before the deadline.
Below are the GOP officials and candidates who are part of this year’s petition:
- Lt. Governor Dan Patrick
- Keith Self, candidate 3rd Congressional District
- Congressman Pat Fallon (R-TX-04)
- Morgan Luttrell, candidate 6th Congressional District
- Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX-10)
- Monica de la Cruz, candidate 15th Congressional District
- Congressman Troy Nehls (R-TX-22)
- Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX-26)
- Patrick Gillespie, candidate 33rd Congressional District
- State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
- State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)
- State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury)
- State Rep. Keith Bell (R-Forney)
- State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine)
- State Rep. John Raney (R-College Station)
- State Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo)
- Mark Dorazio, candidate House District 122
- Mano DeAyala, candidate House District 133
- Ryan McConnico, candidate House District 134
- Julie Pickren, candidate State Board of Education District 7
- County Judge Duane Peters, Brazos County
- Cheryl Regmund, candidate for Llano County Treasurer
- Judge Terrence Nunn, Brazos County Precinct 2
Texas “Robin Hood” Program Takes in Record $3.2 Billion
The state’s mechanism for redistributing funding between school districts collected $3.2 billion in payments during the 2021-22 school year, according to a release from the Texas School Coalition.
The Foundation School Program, colloquially known as “recapture” and “Robin Hood,” takes property tax collections from wealthier districts and distributes a portion of those funds to poorer districts.
According to the Texas Education Agency, the districts that paid the most in recapture funds during the 2020-21 school year are Austin, Houston, and Plano ISDs.
School District Amount Recaptured
Austin ISD $710,562,159
Houston ISD $197,809,821
Plano ISD $191,901,273
Midland ISD $154,436,561
Highland Park ISD $104,751,098
Eanes ISD $101,813,483
Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD $99,468,683
Wink-Loving ISD $87,060,824
Dallas ISD $85,035,728
Spring Branch ISD $61,264,149
The dynamic creates a conflict between the districts benefiting from the payments and those shelling them out.
“Robin Hood recapture removes billions of dollars in local funding from Texas school districts,” said Kyle Lynch, superintendent of Seminole ISD and president of the Texas School Coalition, which represents recapture-paying districts.
“School districts are watching their recapture payments increase at a time when state funding is not keeping up with higher costs for salaries, fuel and utilities.”
Since its inception in 1994, the Foundation School Program’s collections have grown from a couple hundred million dollars to now over $3 billion.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
