Good morning,

What do you do when your enemies are grumbling about your influence? I end the week reflecting on that most pleasant of slurs.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Endorses Universal School Choice Through Education Savings Accounts

• Giving his strongest affirmation of universal school choice yet, Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed “education savings accounts” for all Texas families regardless of financial situation or where they live. Darrell Frost has the details.

     
• “It is time for education freedom in Texas,” said Abbott, at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi.
      
• While promoting his record of having pushed more money into public education than any other governor, Abbott said “it’d be wrong if we said that more money always leads to better results. It just doesn’t.”
      
• State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Wallisville) has filed legislation that would create an ESA program. It would require the state to fund the account of each child enrolled in the program with an amount equal to the average annual cost incurred per student by Texas public schools. These funds would be managed by the child’s parents and could be used for private school tuition, homeschooling curriculum, online learning fees, and tutoring, among other options.

TASB Is Really, Really Mad At Conservative Legislators

• “TASB is scared. They should be. Parents are learning their tax dollars are being weaponized against them and their children.” That's the attitude of State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) toward the Texas Association of School Boards. Get the story from Katy Drollinger.
        
• He was reacting to TASB's response to an open letter Harrison and a dozen other Republican lawmakers sent to school districts around the state urging them to cut off funding to the lobbying organization.
      
• Predictably, TASB accuses Harrison and the others of spreading disinformation. Yet the fact remains that TASB has pushed a left-wing political agenda not only in Austin, but also in the guidance and training they offer school districts.
        
• It's simple: School districts shouldn’t be wasting the taxpayers’ education dollars on TASB.

Corrupt Tax Scheme Amounts To Legalized Extortion

• While the state's corrupt "Chapter 313" of the tax code expired at the end of 2022, some lawmakers are working feverishly to bring it back to life. In a series this week, Texas Scorecard's investigative team has been looking at the cronyism and corruption inherent in the program.
     
• The so-called "313 Agreements" allowed local school districts to exempt businesses from paying property taxes, with state tax dollars used to cover the lost revenue. 
     
• But as Robert Montoya reports, the corruption of 313s goes even further. Some school districts have been able to grab even more money by negotiating side deals with these businesses, where the school district receives cash payments in return for the special favor of lower taxes in the future. Many of the deals are shrouded in secrecy.
      

• Meanwhile, Texas homeowners, renters, and businesses without political clout suffer under skyrocketing property taxes.
     

• “I think Chapter 313 is a scam on taxpayers, and it’s corporate welfare,” said public policy specialist Bill Peacock. “It's wrong.”

Teachers Going Rogue, And Worse

• One Texas teacher has been jailed for child porn, and another is under fire for promising to keep important secrets from parents.
     

• A Frisco ISD high school teacher, Megan England, is facing criticism for taking to social media to tell “closeted” LGBTQ+ students that she will be their safe place and keep their secret hidden from their parents. Soli Rice has that story.

      
• Meanwhile, a West Texas math teacher has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material. According to court documents, 60-year-old Albert Douglas Ackley from Valentine, Texas, uploaded and shared 10 files containing child sexual abuse materials over a messaging app. Emily Wilkerson has the horrific details.

📺 Watch The Newest Edition of The Headline

• How close are Texans to getting the “biggest property tax cut in history”? On this week's edition of The Headline, Tim Hardin of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility explains to Brandon Waltens where things stand. Plus, Robert Montoya will give an overview of the latest investigative series exposing a crony tax program that only benefit a chosen few politically connected businesses.
     
• Watch the episode now on our website, Rumble, or YouTube.

Friday Reflection: Let 'Em Grumble

When your enemies are complaining about how powerful you are, don’t interrupt them.

Not long ago, a friend of mine was being attacked. His detractors were upset that he was too powerful, too influential, and too well liked. He doesn’t hold office. He isn’t rich. He has no title. He’s just a guy who speaks his mind honestly and truthfully.

For those who seek access to self-appointed political masters, truth-speakers are dangerous.

Some well-intentioned advisors encouraged my friend to denounce the slanderers, to proclaim his powerlessness, deny his influence, and shun his allies. They wanted him to defend himself by denying who had worked diligently to be: a man of character.

There is something to be said about wanting to find common ground with your critics, but only when the criticism has merit.

In Proverbs 20:3, we are told, “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.”

That’s what my friend was dealing with: fools who wanted to quarrel. They couldn’t assail his positions. They couldn’t find fault with his objectives. They had chained themselves to a politician's promises, and muzzled their voices to remain in the presence of their political betters.

They were jealous that he had “an audience” unrelated to a political position, and they were frustrated that an audience liked that he told the truth about their favorite politicians.

So, in fact, the “strife” wasn’t real; it was just fools making noise.

And, in this case, it was the kind of noise that simply doesn’t actually matter.

Maybe I need to spell it out. When someone criticizes you for being “powerful” and “popular,” for what exactly do you need to apologize? Let them keep talking while you keep doing what has them so agitated.

Later in Proverbs 20 we find, “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.”

In a world defined by actions, there are those who simply want to grumble. Let them. You have a republic to save.