Texas

Garcia Requests Audit of Houston School District

Texas Representative Sylvia Garcia (D) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting an audit of the funding the Houston Independent School District (HISD) received.

“I am writing you today to alert you to ongoing issues in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and financial happenings with our schools in the region,” said Rep. Garcia. “These issues are of the [utmost] importance to my office and constituents, and I therefore ask for the assistance of your department, including the Department of Education Office Inspector General.”

Texas schools have been a politcal talking point since Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has begun sending out controversial school vouchers. The Texas representative addressed concerning reports that state funds had gone to a charter school in Colorado. “I would request that the Department of Education audit Ector ISD to ensure that all payments were appropriate in nature,” said Rep. Garcia regarding the alleged misallocation of funds.

During the COVID pandemic, the federal government sent funds to states. However, because of the alleged misconduct, there have been reports of layoffs for teachers, administrators and staff members.

“In order to be sure these dollars reached their intended recipients and were spent in accordance with the wishes of Congress, I request that you provide the dates when Texas received funding, the dates they disbursed funding to HISD, how HISD spent those funds to date, and what the remaining balance of those funds is,” said Garcia.

“It pains me that my home school district has been taken over and is seemingly being unintentionally run into the ground and request any additional assistance you can provide to protect our school and our students,” continued Garcia.

In her closing remarks, the Texas congresswoman contextualized the state of affairs in Texas.

“I understand that the Department of Education is critically important to the wellbeing of our future generations and ensuring that all stakeholders are good financial stewards of public funds is a part of that work. Houston is a vibrant and diverse community, and our state government is punishing us for that; we need your help,” said Garcia to the Chief of Staff.

Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith is a writer and recent graduate, majoring in English.

Recent Posts

Abbott Seeks to Roll Back Same-Day Address Update Voting Measure

Governor Greg Abbott (R) called on state lawmakers to block a new voter registration provision…

5 hours ago

Governor Abbott Signs Trio of Bills to Block Foreign Adversary Influence in Texas

Governor Greg Abbott (R) has signed House Bill 128, Senate Bill 17, and Senate Bill…

5 hours ago

Texas Faces NAACP Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Gerrymandering in New Congressional Maps

The NAACP, joined by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, has filed a…

5 hours ago

LONESTAR — 8.27.2025 — Texas House Advances Local Property Tax Bill — Cruz Endorses Roy Texas For Attorney General — and More...

The Texas House passed a bill aimed at tightening restrictions on how much property tax…

5 hours ago

Texas Will Begin Construction on Eiger Express Pipeline

Texas will soon begin construction on a major natural gas pipeline that will stretch across…

1 day ago

Texas Energy Fund Approves Two New Projects

Two years after Texas lawmakers created the $7.2 billion Texas Energy Fund to aid in…

1 day ago