Tag Archives: budget

KIPP departs Galveston

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this. The popular KIPP charter school chain is pulling out of Galveston, where it operates two campuses with about 900 students combined under a contract with the school district. Because of statewide school … Continue reading →

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More on the audit letters

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks some outside experts to go over those recently released audit letters. Houston leaders appeared to have ignored the significance of recurring accounting and management problems or did not have the resources to fix them, according to accounting … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

City sues HFRRF again

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In the face of growing concern about its ability to meet long-term retiree pension obligations, the City of Houston filed a lawsuit today against the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), one of three pension systems … Continue reading →

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Funding after school programs

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This should be a no-brainer. To combat youth crime, a former Houston police chief says the city must first solve another problem: unstable and inadequate funding for after-school programs. City Councilman C.O. Bradford said it is more urgent than ever … Continue reading →

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School finance trial do-over set to start soon

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Once more into the breach. Hundreds of school districts in North Texas and across the state will resume their courtroom battle over funding in January, arguing that new money and reduced testing did little to fix Texas’ school finance system. … Continue reading →

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It’s about much more than abortion

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another reminder that even if the Legislature had taken no action on abortion since 2011, it still grievously damaged women’s access to healthcare. The closure of nine of 32 family planning clinics in the Rio Grande Valley — a … Continue reading →

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There are no new ideas, but there are plenty of bad ideas

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with what Greg Abbott wants for Texas that it’s hard to know where to begin. In his first major policy address as a gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Greg Abbott proposed tighter constitutional limits on state spending … Continue reading →

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Mostly good news for Apollo

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the story so far. A three-year, multimillion-dollar experiment to improve 20 struggling HISD schools yielded big gains in math and limited progress in reading, according to partial results of a study released Wednesday. Now, Superintendent Terry Grier and the … Continue reading →

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Demagnetized

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some unhappy changes are about to occur at Houston schools. HISD officials unveiled a plan Thursday to cut funding and end bus rides next year for transfer students at 20 struggling magnet schools, tackling a politically tough topic that has … Continue reading →

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HISD board approves 3-cent tax increase

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It was a close vote. Property owners in the Houston Independent School District will see their tax bills rise after trustees Thursday narrowly approved the first tax rate increase for operations in a dozen years. The board voted 4-3 to … Continue reading →

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Next wave of recycling bins approved

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: City Council on Wednesday OK’d funding to complete efforts to double the number of 96-gallon green recycling bins parked at city curbs, but it is unclear which 70,000 homes will be next to receive the service. […] … Continue reading →

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Questions asked about Perry’s job-stealing trips

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. As Gov. Rick Perry visits Maryland in his latest effort to recruit businesses to relocate to Texas, a Washington, D.C.-based group is taking aim at what it calls the governor’s “piracy trips,” raising questions over how they are funded. … Continue reading →

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Hall’s five point crimefighting plan

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Houstonians do not feel safe in their homes and their communities. Houston’s crime numbers remain dangerously high and criminals are victimizing us daily. The only thing we hear from the Mayor’s office on this issue is silence. … Continue reading →

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Hall and the firefighters

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ben Hall has the support of the firefighters’ union. He has also criticized Mayor Parker for not doing enough to deal with the financial stability of the pension funds. How does he reconcile these two seemingly contradictory positions? Not surprisingly, … Continue reading →

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Special prosecutor appointed in Perry/Lehmberg veto threat case

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Mike McCrum. District Judge Robert Richardson named Mike McCrum to look into a complaint filed by Texans for Public Justice against the governor. The watchdog group alleges that Perry abused his power by threatening to cut funding to the … Continue reading →

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Special prosecutor to be appointed in Perry/Lehmberg veto case

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Moving forward. A San Antonio senior state district judge confirmed Thursday that he will name a special prosecutor to investigate possible charges of coercion and abuse of official capacity against Gov. Rick Perry. Judge Robert “Bert” Richardson said he expected … Continue reading →

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What to do with that extra money?

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some unexpected good financial news for the city, but what to do about it is the tricky part. Just months after hiking health premiums, shifting costs to employees and plugging a projected multimillion-dollar deficit in its health benefits fund, the … Continue reading →

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Travis County to fund Public Integrity Unit

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not optimal, but better than the alternative of shutting it down till 2015. The Travis County Commissioners Court agreed [last] Tuesday to restore some money to the Travis County district attorney’s Public Integrity Unit after Gov. Rick Perry in June … Continue reading →

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Show them the data

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A major donor to HISD’s key school reform effort is putting its remaining $3 million check on hold amid concerns that detailed research about the success of the program is lacking. The president of the Houston Endowment, Ann Stern, … Continue reading →

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Lege may have found a way on transportation funding

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As of Thursday, Special Session 3: Beyond Thunderdome was looming. Both chambers of the Legislature were filled with activity Thursday afternoon but they ended up essentially where they had started: waiting on House and Senate negotiators to come up with … Continue reading →

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Remember how concern for women’s health was supposed to be a thing?

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the omnibus anti-abortion bill has been passed and signed, the Republicans can quit pretending to care about the state of health care access for women in Texas as before. Three Planned Parenthood family planning clinics in Southeast Texas … Continue reading →

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Judge assigned in complaint about Perry veto of Public Integrity Unit

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Moving along slowly. A San Antonio judge on Tuesday was assigned to hear a complaint that alleges Gov. Rick Perry committed coercion, bribery and official oppression by vetoing funding for the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit. Senior Judge … Continue reading →

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House passes different transportation bill than the Senate passed

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Our endless summer of special sessions isn’t over yet. The Texas House on Thursday gave final passage to a measure to boost funding for transportation projects, though few members expect it to survive the Senate without significant changes. After more … Continue reading →

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Council approves Costco tax rebate

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I still don’t think this is a good idea. The Houston City Council on Wednesday approved a $1 million economic development deal to help Costco build a store outside the city limits. In a rambling discussion ending in a 12-3 … Continue reading →

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Elsewhere in the House

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No action on transportation yet. House budget writers on Tuesday ended a hearing on transportation funding with no clear decision about how to raise money for Texas roads. The House Appropriations Committee is considering several proposals to see which has … Continue reading →

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A cautionary tale about expanded gambling

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Wonkblog: Earlier this week, Delaware’s casinos got a surprise windfall. Just days after saying no to tax breaks, Gov. Jack Markell (D) proposed that $8 million of the state’s budget surplus be distributed amongst its three struggling establishments, to forestall … Continue reading →

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First Hackathon project released

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Budget Bootcamp, a new city website application that provides easy access to city budget information, is the first Houston Hackathon project to become reality.  Budget Bootcamp is hosted on the Finance Department’s website and provides citizens an educational walkthrough of the … Continue reading →

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Public Integrity Unit employees get layoff notices

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

What is to come if nothing changes. Travis County commissioners are still holding out hope the state will fund the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, but took an early step to let employees know their jobs are on the line. … Continue reading →

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HISD inspects North Forest schools

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not pretty. The HISD leaders tried not to scowl as they walked into classrooms with broken glass, flooded floors, outdated chalkboards, graffiti on walls, gum on desks and the smell of mildew. The head of food service swept cockroaches … Continue reading →

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If we need more courts, we should ask for more courts

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure why there hasn’t been more of a push to deal with this. As Harris County’s population continues to swell, more people means more crimes. And that results in more work for the county’s 22 felony courts. But … Continue reading →

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Patrick and Williams keep squabbling

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just as a reminder that Senate Republicans don’t need Democrats to stir up trouble, here’s a flare-up of an earlier kerfuffle. Fire one. In a recent interview with The Texas Tribune, my colleague, state Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the … Continue reading →

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HISD budgets for teacher pay raise and more Apollo

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whether that will mean a tax hike, and if so how much, remains undetermined. Houston ISD employees will see a 2 percent pay raise and many schools will receive more money to help struggling students under the budget that trustees … Continue reading →

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No override of Public Integrity Unit funding veto

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. A legislative move to restore state funding for the ethics-enforcing Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office died Friday afternoon. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said no vote is expected on House Concurrent Resolution … Continue reading →

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Back to court for the school finance lawsuit

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like deja vu all over again. State district court Judge John Dietz likened the state’s school finance case to the soap opera As The World Turns when he opened Wednesday’s hearing on whether to reconsider evidence in the trial that … Continue reading →

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