Parent Teacher Association (PTA) members and officials often bristle at the suggestion that the PTA is dominated by the teacher unions. If one thinks of domination only in terms of explicit union commands to the PTA, this reaction is understandable. In practice, however, teacher union domination is subtle but highly effective.
Taxes & Spending
Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Austin
Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Austin? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its reasonability...
February 19, 2026