On Wednesday, a group of far-left pastors published a column in the Dallas Morning News criticizing the budding parental empowerment movement and calling on the Legislature to heap a great deal more on Texas’ failing public school system. The central premise of the article, which was difficult to take seriously, is that we, as a...
Yet another Austin-area school district is serving fewer students, even while its budget balloons. According to a recent Community Impact article, the number of students enrolled at Pflugerville ISD for the 2023-24 school year “is expected to come in under projections by 300 students.” The district’s superintendent, whose salary ($313,566) is more than two times...
Public education elites appear nervous that the Texas Legislature may soon enact the nation’s finest parental empowerment program, thereby giving families the ability “to pick the public or private school that best fits their child.” This unease, especially among public school superintendents, is easy to detect in their media commentary. Here are just a few...
About an hour and a half north of Dallas is a small town by the name of Bells, which boasts a rich history and near 1,500 residents. Bells bills itself as being at the “Crossroads of Friendliness,” but despite its modest size and charm, the city currently finds itself on the radar of quite a...
Things have gotten expensive in Austin. According to Salary.com, the cost of living is reportedly 9.1% higher than the national average, with the largest differentials being observed in health care, food and housing. The cost of childcare is also relatively high, with the average annual payment totaling $8,759. “This cost is ranked NO. 31 nationally.”...
Where have we heard this before? A city adopts a new tax rate that is technically a decrease, but due to rising appraisals, taxpayers will actually end up paying more. This sort of stealth tax increase has become ubiquitous, and now the city of Houston, Texas largest city, becomes the latest jurisdiction hike taxes in...
The city of Dallas just raised everyone’s taxes. Despite growing angst over affordability, a majority of Dallas city councilmembers voted last week to increase the tax burden on working families by adopting a tax rate of $0.7357 per $100 of value. By setting the tax rate at this level, City Hall chose to go well...
There is an affordability crisis in Texas, and local governments are making it worse. With bloated budgets and reckless spending, cities are making it difficult for Texans to own a home and raise a family. The city of Dallas, for example, recently passed a nearly $5 billion budget—the largest in the city’s history. The budget...
On Tuesday, Travis County commissioners approved a controversial new budget for Central Health that has many wondering why the hospital district is spending so much. In the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, Central Health will spend a whopping $744 million, which is “an effective 18.4% year-over-year budget increase.” You read that right—the district’s...
Last week, the Beaumont City Council gave its unanimous approval to a $329.7 million budget and a new tax rate for fiscal year 2024, both of which will add financial pressure to already-strained family budgets. Beginning Oct. 1, the new tax rate is $0.681485 per $100 of value, which represents a very minor decrease...
Last week, Central Health, Travis County’s hospital district, presented its Fiscal Year 2024 budget to the Travis County Commissioners Court. Under the proposed budget, the health care district would spend $744 million in total, “an increase from 2023’s $628.5 million.” That’s nearly a 20% increase year-over-year. To support all the new spending, it’s seeking a...
UPDATE: The city of Austin has announced it will postpone the tree’s removal while it “reviews additional considerations.” The Celebration of Life has also been postponed. Every once in a while, the city of Austin does something so batty that you have to do a double take. Like the time its Equity Office proposed renaming...