Legislators Say There's Bipartisan Interest In School Finance Reform Next Session
School finance is expected to be a top priority for the Texas Legislature when its 86th session gets underway in 2019. State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, an Angleton Republican, said as much when he announced earlier this week he has enough support to be the next Texas House Speaker. Andrew Schneider, with Houston Public Media, caught up with some other elected officials to get their take on the issue.
Lawmakers tried, and failed, to overhaul school finance last year, following a decision by the state Supreme Court that found the system constitutional but effectively broken. Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt says the odds of success are better with new leadership in the House.
“Comprehensive school finance reform can take a couple sessions, but I think there’s going to be a lot of pieces that will come out and be passed in this session,” Bettencourt says.
Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat, says support for the effort cuts across both party lines and the urban-rural divide.
Read more: http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/news-roundup-legislators-say-theres-bipartisan-interest-in-school-finance-reform-next-session/