Petition for Transparency in Texas School Finance

We, the undersigned Texans, believe the public deserves a clear and transparent understanding of how education dollars are collected, redistributed, and spent through the state’s school finance system.

Across Texas, parents, students, educators, and taxpayers are being asked to navigate increasingly difficult conversations about school budgets, campus closures, staffing shortages, rising property taxes, and declining resources — while many still do not fully understand how recapture funds move through the system or how those funds are ultimately used.

Regardless of political affiliation or position on recapture itself, Texans deserve transparency, accountability, and accessible public information regarding the flow of public education dollars.

We call on candidates, elected officials, and state leaders to support the creation of an independent and publicly transparent task force to:

• Review the current recapture system and its impact on Texas school districts and communities;

• Examine how recaptured funds are allocated and whether those allocations are meeting intended educational goals;

• Improve public reporting and accessibility of school finance data;

• Hold public hearings that include educators, parents, students, researchers, and community members from districts across Texas;

• Produce clear, publicly available findings and recommendations so Texans can better understand how education funding decisions affect their local schools.

Texans should not need a background in public finance to understand why schools are struggling, campuses are closing, or property taxes continue to rise. Public trust requires public transparency.

We urge candidates and elected officials at every level of government to publicly support greater transparency and accountability in Texas school finance.

Sign here to support transparency, public accountability, and informed civic discussion surrounding Texas public education funding.