School finance deal still possible as clock ticks on Texas Legislature special session

AUSTIN -- The broad outlines of a possible deal on school finance, despite deep mistrust between the two chambers, surfaced Wednesday after the Legislature's two panels with jurisdiction over public schools showed a bit of respect for one another.

The clock is ticking, and many stumbling blocks lie ahead.

But the House Public Education Committee's approval of a bill to create a school finance study commission -- something the Senate badly wants -- was a sop to Friendswood GOP Sen. Larry Taylor.

Taylor, who is the Senate's chief school policy writer, has scheduled a Friday public hearing by his Senate panel on the House's top schools objective, a $1.8 billion tweak of the state's widely criticized formulas for funding public schools.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/08/09/still-hope-school-finance-deal-though-texas-lawmakers-run-short-time