August 13, 2017      10:37 PM

Updated: House and Senate get down to negotiations over school finance

"We’ve got to start over” says Chair Nelson; she and Chair Huberty were behind closed doors tonight as both chambers waited

Senate Finance kicked out its preferred funding mechanism for school finance, House Bill 30, earlier this evening in anticipation of negotiations with the House that got underway shortly thereafter. Both chambers gaveled out until Monday as the talks wrapped up for the evening around 9pm. The House will be back at 1pm while the Senate is in recess until 4pm Monday afternoon.

House Bill 30 is the lighter, more digestible version of school finance: $150 million for hardship grants; $60 million for the Existing Debt Allotment; another $60 million for charter schools that appears to have no strings attached to it; and $40 million to remedy gaps in the small district allotment.

The runs for the $311 million bill went out from Sen. Larry Taylor’s, R-Friendswood, office this morning. Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said he would vote for the bill but only to keep the discussion going with the House in conference committee.

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright August 13, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved