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Here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Special Note: Last week, readers asked for members of the State Board of Education to be included in the Texas Directory – and we’ve done it! At the end of most editions of the Texas Minute, you’ll find the roster of elected officials, and it will now include your specific SBOE member. See the directory for the rest of the SBOE district boundaries and members.

Democrats’ ‘Incompetence’ Frees Criminals

• Following a “computer glitch” during a systems update, Harris County’s Joint Processing System released close to 300 inmates. Sydnie Henry has the details.
      
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has some strong descriptions of the Harris County’s Democrat-run government, including “broken,” “incompetence,” and “dysfunction.”
      
• “The county would have you believe there is nothing to worry about. How many murderers, rapists, sexual predators, armed robbers, burglars, drug dealers were in the release? They have not offered up an account or demonstrated any transparency at all. … But responsibility for this level of dysfunction rests squarely on the shoulders of the Harris County Commissioner Court. These are the people who need to be resigning in shame, embarrassment, and dishonor” – Dan Patrick

Independent Poll: Paxton Has 30-Point Lead Over Bush

• Despite a constant barrage of attacks from Democrats and establishment Republicans, Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading his GOP runoff challenger George P. Bush ahead of the May 24 election. An independent poll from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC shows Paxton receiving 59 percent of the Republican vote statewide, compared to 30 percent for Bush.

     
• “Texas cannot afford to have an establishment-supported rookie in the attorney general’s office who lacks the fortitude and knowledge necessary to win the battles at the highest level,” said Paxton after the poll was announced.
     

• The poll also shows incumbent Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian with a 26 percent lead over his opponent, Sarah Stogner. In the open-seat race for land commissioner, Dawn Buckingham has a 24 percent lead over Tim Westley.

Runoff Candidates on Property Taxes

• With 34 Republican candidates in the May runoff elections for the state Legislature, Texas Scorecard asked for their plans to lower property taxes.
      

• In the March GOP primary, Republican voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition calling for property taxes to be eliminated without the imposition of an income tax.
     

• See which candidates did – and did not – respond.

Campaigning To Fire The Superintendent

• With public education issues dominating national and state headlines, and many local school district elections just around the corner, one North Texas school board candidate is proposing unique solutions to better serve students and parents in his district—starting with firing the superintendent. Erin Anderson has the story.
   
• “It is clear we need a change at the top,” says Spencer Siino, a businessman and father of four who lives in Highland Park. Siino is running in the May school board election.
     
• He said Superintendent Tom Trigg and past administrators have put the district “on a path of a technology-driven, political values-focused approach, centered around ‘Professional Development’ rather than a traditional liberal arts primary education.”
   
• Siino wants to replace the superintendent with a “classical educator” who can return the district to a traditional curriculum focused on reading, writing, math, science, “real history,” and classic works, as well as “prioritize resources on teachers rather than administrators and technology.”
   
• Early voting starts April 25 around the state for the May 7 local elections.

Texas Stays In NSBA Even As California Leaves

• This week, the California School Board Association (CSBA) announced that it would not be renewing its annual membership with the scandal-plagued and leftist-dominated National School Board Association. Yet the Texas Association of School Boards remains an active member, reports Katy Drollinger.
      

• The National School Board Association (NSBA) made headlines last fall following their letter to President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting federal intervention in local school board meetings and referring to concerned parents as “domestic terrorists.”

       
• Besides California, 19 other states have left the national group – and yet TASB, through dues collected from local school districts, is still sending Texas’ taxpayer dollars to prop up the organization.

Parents Rally Against Obscene School Books

• Parents rallied this weekend to bring attention to what they call pornography in Texas schools, and to make their fellow residents aware it’s happening in the McKinney Independent School District. 
      
• For months, McKinney parents have been urging their school board and superintendent to remove scores of sexually explicit library books that are inappropriate for underage kids to access at school.
      
• “The school board has acted very defiant and seems to not believe this is an issue,” McKinney resident Kyle Sims told Texas Scorecard.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

The Lone Star State is forecasted to have a $25 billion surplus when lawmakers gather in 2023. 

With fuel prices so high, should Texas – either by Gov. Greg Abbott's executive fiat or in a special legislative session – pause collection of the state's gasoline tax? 

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