Texas Comptroller Don Huffines said Aug. 19 he will launch a detailed review of select school districts to determine whether they are spending taxpayer funds responsibly, acting on a formal request Gov. Greg Abbott issued the same day.
The examination, which the comptroller’s office is calling the Huffines Performance Review, will look at whether district spending complies with the law and reaches students, classrooms and teachers rather than fueling administrative growth or non-instructional bureaucracy, according to a news release from the office.
“Texans must have confidence that their school tax dollars support educational opportunities for students, not layers of bureaucracy in central administrative offices,” Huffines said in the release. “We will document wasteful and inappropriate spending wherever we discover it and report our findings to the Legislature and the people of Texas.”
Abbott framed the request around the size of the state’s education budget. “It is essential that the $104.9 billion that Texas spends on K-12 education is used for its intended purpose: supporting students and teachers to make Texas the top-performing state in education, rather than accelerating administrative bloat,” the governor said in a statement issued by his office. In his own release, Abbott said taxpayer dollars should reach teachers and students rather than “central-office growth, administrative bloat, consultants, and the web of noninstructional bureaucracy.”
Under Abbott’s request, the comptroller will investigate spending at up to four independent school districts of varying size and geographic location, excluding districts led by state-appointed boards, to determine whether public funds are used for their lawful, intended purposes. The comptroller’s office said it will name the selected districts in the coming weeks.
The timeline points toward the next legislative session. The final report is due by Dec. 31, 2026, which the comptroller’s office said would give the 90th Legislature time to consider any resulting recommendations for reform. Abbott’s office said the deadline is intended to allow appropriate action and additional reforms to be considered.
Huffines said the review will be conducted “professionally and transparently to protect taxpayers and ensure Texas students can learn in the best schools in America.” Districts selected for review have not yet been notified publicly, and neither release identified criteria beyond size and geography for choosing them.