Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, April 11, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Teacher Accused of Sex Trafficking Students with Son

• A teacher in the Klein Independent School District has been jailed under accusations that she helped her son force troubled students into prostitution. Erin Anderson has the details.
   
• Cosmetology teacher Kedria McMath Grigsby was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail earlier this week. Her son, Roger Magee, has been in jail since 2022 on multiple felony charges.
       
• Ms. Grigsby was charged with three counts of trafficking a child and three counts of compelling prostitution of children under the age of 18. Those are first-degree felonies, punishable by up to 99 years in prison.
      
• According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the three victims—ages 15, 16, and 17—were students and reported runaways.
      
• A Klein ISD administrator said the teacher has been placed on administrative leave. Grigsby is the fourth Klein ISD educator charged this school year with sexually exploiting children.

Texas Democrats Call on Colleges to Give Financial Aid to Children of Illegal Aliens

• A group of Texas Democrats in the U.S. House have called on colleges to set aside financial aid for students who come from illegal alien families. As Emily Medieros reports, their action follows reports of students being unable to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid because their parents do not have Social Security numbers. 
      

• Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Texas Scorecard that instead of rewarding illegal alien families with financial aid, the government should be discouraging those here illegally from staying.

MILLER: Finishing What We Started

• In a new commentary, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller writes that Texas conservatives showed up and made history in the March primary... but explains why the job isn't done.
      
• "Now we must decide whether it will be a turning point or a footnote. That chapter has yet to be written. It’s up to you." – Sid Miller

Houston-area Lawmakers Want Hearing on Houston ISD

• Nearly a year into the state’s takeover of Houston Independent School District, nine Houston-area Democrat lawmakers want Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to call for a public hearing on the state of the district. Charles Blain has the story.
      
• The Texas Education Agency began a temporary takeover of Houston ISD last year due to corrupt school officials and persistent academic failures at some campuses.
      
• Among the Democrats' concerns are "credible reports" that the district plans to hire "unaccredited" teachers in classrooms, as well as college students, apprentices, and learning coaches who would operate under a certified "teacher of record."

Tarrant County Public Hospitals Consider Race and Gender in Contracting 

• Tarrant County’s public hospital system, known as JPS Health, evaluates contract bids for vital cardiac medical equipment purchases using a 100-point scale. As Will Biagini reports, "Price" and "Quality" can be awarded up to 20 points each.
       
• Meanwhile, the race and gender of the owner (or owners) can rake up to 15 points... and "minority-owned" firms receive the 15 points automatically. For firms not owned by a minority, the score will be based on the presence of any minority subcontractors.
       
• "This will not stand. People’s lives are more important than sensitive people’s feelings," said Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French.
      
• "The JPS Board needs to clean up this nonsense immediately. There is no place for DEI-scoring in the awarding of any government contracts." – Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare

City of Dallas is $6.9 Billion in Debt

• A new analysis finds the City of Dallas is $6.9 billion in debt. As first reported by the Dallas Express, the review is based on calculations from Truth in Accounting.
       
• The analysis ranked Dallas 69 out of the 75 major cities in the nation for taxpayer debt burdens. Houston is the only Texas city to have a worse rating.
     
• "This kind of debt is saddling each individual taxpayer with the impossible burden of tens of thousands of dollars just to pay it off, and they are setting future generations up for failure." – Andrew McVeigh, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

Quote-Unquote

"The things I saw beggar description."

– Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower,
after touring a Buchenwald sub-camp​

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