The residents of Whitesboro, Texas recently reminded everyone that speaking up matters. Last month, the Whitesboro city government caused quite the stir when it first proposed an eye-popping tax increase that would have meant a 30% tax rate hike, a 45% jump in homeowner taxes, and a 39% growth in the tax levy. Here’s more...
How much do Houston’s highest paid public school principals make in year? The Houston Chronicle has answers. According to a recently published analysis of the 50 highest-paid principals in the Houston area, administrator salaries ranged between $153,000 to more than $200,000, roughly 2-to-3 times the median household income. The highest paid principal was Mark Smith,...
Sweetheart deals for public school superintendents are in the news—again. And this time, it’s the failing Fort Worth ISD that’s in the spotlight. Yesterday, media outlets revealed that FWISD had entered into a contractual arrangement with outgoing superintendent Angelica Ramsey, who recently became the source of controversy after Ft. Worth mayor Mattie Parker lambasted the...
Every year, experts at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) publish the much-beloved Rich States, Poor States report, which examines “each state’s competitiveness and economic outlook” using an index that tracks and compares 15 different policy variables “that have a proven impact on the migration of capital—both investment and human—into and out of states.” Those...
Many Texans today are struggling to afford the cost of gas, groceries, and rent. Unfortunately, they might also have to add the cost of government to that list too, if some cities, like Houston, get their way. As reported in the Dallas Express on Friday: If the city maintains the current rate of .51 cents...
On Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle shed some light on a big and growing problem—education elites getting rich at taxpayer expense. And special attention was paid to the now-retired superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (CFISD), Mark Henry. In its piece, the Chronicle’s writer notes: “Before his retirement in December 2023, Henry collected a base salary of $537,775...
The Dallas Morning News isn’t a fan of TPPF’s past property tax elimination plan (no surprise), but in a recent article, the organization’s editorial board seems to take a strong stand in support of additional tax rate compression and local spending discipline (nice surprise!). In the piece, the Board writes: “Ending property taxes would skyrocket...
On Tuesday, former President Barack Obama gave an address to the Democrat National Convention (DNC) which, in part, broached the issue of housing affordability. On the matter, he said: “If we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of...
One state lawmaker recently accused Texas Governor Greg Abbott of not “spend[ing] the tax $ that you collected from us on our neighborhood schools instead…hoarding it in the treasury.” Setting aside the fact that the Legislature authors the state budget and dictates where money is spent—not the chief executive—this critique gets things wrong in another...
A new poll from the University of Houston (UH) and Texas Southern University (TSU) finds that, even in today’s highly-charged political environment, there are still a few things that most people agree on. In this case, it’s the fact that housing costs are out-of-control. Here are a few highlights from the UH/TSU poll, which was conducted...
Every even-numbered year, the state’s Legislative Budget Board (LBB) publishes a helpful, user-friendly summation of the General Appropriations Act (GAA), otherwise known as the state’s two-year budget. On Wednesday, the LBB published the next iteration—its 2024-25 Fiscal Size-Up. From a 30,000 ft. level, this new report provides “a comprehensive review of how tax dollars were...
Almost one year after being mocked relentlessly for a holding short-lived “thirst strike,” U.S. Congressman Greg Casar is once again promoting the idea that government should mandate water breaks. On Tuesday, Casar took to X (formerly Twitter) to cheer on “a new federal heat rule to give American workers the right to rest, shade, &...