January 4, 2026
NEWS DIGEST
by Brandon Waltens
Good morning,
A final audit released by the State Auditor’s Office on New Year’s Eve confirms sweeping financial and operational failures at Texas Southern University, including the inability to locate the vast majority of sampled assets and years of noncompliance with basic procurement and financial reporting requirements.
According to the audit [[link removed]], 50 of 60 sampled assets—83 percent—could not be located, despite being recorded in the university’s official accounting system.
Auditors reported that the missing assets had a combined purchase value of $3.2 million and warned that the lack of inventories, inaccurate records, and staffing gaps created a high risk that university property could be lost, stolen, or misused without detection.
The report found that TSU had not conducted a required annual physical inventory since at least 2019 and maintained incomplete and inaccurate asset records across multiple systems. In some cases, assets continued to be depreciated even after being auctioned, written off, or reimbursed by insurance, including a university bus valued at more than half a million dollars.
Auditors also detailed extensive breakdowns in the university’s procurement process.
TSU routinely paid vendors without approved requisitions, processed invoices tied to expired contracts, and failed to ensure required bids, quotes, or board approvals were in place before purchases were made.
In one review, auditors identified 743 invoices paid on expired contracts and more than 8,000 invoices dated before the corresponding requisitions were approved, confirming that purchases were frequently made outside required controls.
Financial reporting failures compounded the problems.
The audit found that TSU submitted required financial statements months late and provided inaccurate data to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, including misstatements of tens of millions of dollars in bond repayment figures.
Auditors said the delays and errors limited transparency and hindered the state’s ability to rely on the university’s financial information.
In response to the audit’s release, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the findings were “ beyond disturbing [[link removed]]” and reflected years of mismanagement involving taxpayer funds.
University leadership agreed with the state auditor’s recommendations and outlined a multi-year corrective action plan.
Featured Epidemic of Child Predators in Texas Schools Continues [[link removed]]
By Erin Anderson
Child sexual predators continue to be found in Texas schools in alarming numbers.
In 2023 and again in 2024, Texas Scorecard highlighted 100 cases of school employees—teachers, coaches, administrators, bus drivers—accused of sexual misconduct with students and other children.
In 2025, the epidemic of sex abuse in schools not only continued but appeared to be escalating, with multiple suspects exposed each week.
Read More [[link removed]]
Real Texans David Stokely [[link removed]]
In this week's edition of Real Texans, David Stokely—a reformed convict whose Houston-area Christian ministry focuses on protecting at-risk youth—warns about the dangers of explicit materials that are denied to prisoners but remain available to children in school libraries.
New interviews with REAL TEXANS [[link removed]] every Sunday!
State 2025: The Year Texas Lawmakers Tried To Criminalize Political Memes [[link removed]]
A proposed bill by Dade Phelan would have outlawed certain political memes without government-mandated disclaimers. Texas GOP Presses on with Fight To Close Primary Elections [[link removed]]
A legal battle between the party and Secretary of State Jane Nelson continues to play out in the courts. Texas A&M Committee Recommended University-Wide DEI Training [[link removed]]
A conservative scholar agreed with the committee’s criticism of leadership but rejected its framing that this was a racial issue.
Read more in State news... [[link removed]]
Local Austin Initiates Second Round of Budget Cuts [[link removed]]
The cuts, less than one percent of the municipal budget, follow the landslide defeat of Proposition Q in November. Cibolo Police Charge 3 Teachers With Harming Special Ed Student [[link removed]]
The educators worked at Watts Elementary in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD. Harris County Directed to Fix Voter Rolls After State Confirms PO Box Registrations [[link removed]]
Texas election officials have confirmed that Harris County voter registrations included post office box addresses, prompting the state to order corrective action to bring the rolls into compliance with election law.
Read more in Local news... [[link removed]]
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