During the Regular Session, the 89th Texas Legislature passed three key measures to meaningfully improve fiscal transparency and cultivate a more informed decision-making environment. These well-intentioned measures include:
• HB 103 (2025), relating to the creation and maintenance of a database of taxing unit bond, tax, and bond-related project information; providing a civil penalty;
• HB 3526 (2025), relating to fiscal transparency for bonds issued by local governmental entities; and
• SB 843 (2025), relating to a Texas Education Agency database of school district and open-enrollment charter school bonds, taxes, and bond-related projects.
Local Government
How Much Did Texas’ Highest Paid Superintendents Make in 2025-26?
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently updated its superintendent salary database, revealing some intriguing new information about the take-home pay for public education elites. According to TEA’s 2025-26 dataset, there were 1,220 full- and part-time superintendent positions filled this year at 187 open-enrollment charter schools and 1,033 traditional school districts. For each of these positions, TEA provides select details, including ‘base pay’ and ‘total pay.’ Base pay is defined as “total payroll amount where payroll activity code is 80. (Does not include supplemental pay),”while...
March 17, 2026