AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD has been picked as one of four Texas school districts to undergo a "detailed review" by the state comptroller's office.
Comptroller Don Huffines says the reviews are an "important step to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of public funds."
Big picture view:
Huffines announced the selection on Monday, saying that Austin ISD, Barbers Hill ISD, El Paso ISD, and Prosper ISD will be part of the Huffines Performance Review.
The review will "examine whether district spending complies with state law and is directed toward students, classrooms, and teachers — rather than toward administrative expansion or non‑instructional bureaucracy," said a release from the Comptroller's office.
By the numbers:
Austin ISD is by far the largest of the four districts, with just over 69,000 students enrolled last school year. AISD is the eighth largest in the state of Texas, comprising about 114 schools, according to the district website.
Barbers Hill ISD is the smallest of the four, only serving about 8,088 students last school year, according to Huffines. BHISD only has nine campuses.
El Paso ISD had 46,244 students enrolled last year across 71 campuses, while Prosper ISD had 33,583 across 32 campuses.
What we don't know:
Huffines did not share any details about how or why the districts were selected, or what, if any, criteria his office followed in selecting them.
What's next:
The final report will be completed by Dec. 31, providing the 90th Legislature sufficient time to consider any recommendations for reform, says Huffines.
The other side:
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, Huffines' Democratic opponent in the 2026 general election and who represents Austin ISD, says this review is "nothing more than the Acting Comptroller bolstering TEA's favored model of cuts, consolidations, layoffs and takeovers."
"Our schools should be #1 instead of 46th, but that won’t happen when our schools are buried under constant and multiple layers of bureaucracy and political retribution rather than honest or helpful review. There is nothing honest or helpful about the Acting Comptroller," Eckhardt said. "Just as he buried the truth at Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, he is burying it now in the Comptroller's office."
"We won’t get an honest or helpful review of these school districts or a fair evaluation of how our schools are performing against private school vouchers before the coming legislative session," she added. "This is nothing more than the Acting Comptroller bolstering TEA's favored model of cuts, consolidations, layoffs, and takeovers."
Abbott orders review of school districts
The backstory:
The review was requested by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott back in August.
Abbott asked the comptroller to look at the spending of up to four independent school districts to determine if they are spending their taxpayer funding appropriately.
Abbott did not provide an example of funds being misused in his request letter.
Abbott tasked the comptroller with selecting districts of varying size and geographic locations, providing a list to the governor's office of the districts chosen and a timeline for the investigation by Dec. 31.
The Source: Information in this report comes from an Oct. 5 release by the Texas Comptroller's office, an Oct. 5 statement from State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, and previous reporting from FOX Local.