Proposal to cut TEA fails

If he was watching the House debate on HB1 a little while ago, state Education Commissioner Robert Scott may have felt a little scare. Republican Rep. Burt Solomons proposed an amendment to deeply cut into the Texas Education Agency’s budget and cut Scott’s salary in about half. Solomons would have put the savings – more than $200 million – into the public schools.

Solomons’ amendment was tabled, however, on a bipartisan vote after some legislators argued that the TEA already had been cut enough.

The public schools are underfunded by about $7.8 billion in HB1.