Waste Watch

Surplus of Waste in Houston ISD

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Surplus of Waste in Houston ISD

Financial problems abound for Houston ISD. The latest issue the district is dealing with: an unexplained surplus of food valued at almost $3 million. This could be HISD’s latest slap in the face to taxpayers if that food goes to waste. The food surplus at HISD is a...

AISD Needs A Fiscal Responsibility Refresher Course

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AISD Needs A Fiscal Responsibility Refresher Course

Austin ISD approved a new $724 million budget for the upcoming school year that includes a 3% salary increase for all district employees. But in order to make those raises permanent, it will require hiking property taxes to pay for it -- which several board members...

Subsidized Moves

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Subsidized Moves

Does your employer subsidize your mortgage payment? What about extra incentives for moving closer to work? If you work for the City of San Antonio, you’ll soon be eligible to have taxpayers do that for you! Exclusive pensions, superior salaries, and rock-solid job...

Ballad of Waste

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Ballad of Waste

Houston METRO seems to have their own version of creatively wasting your tax dollars to increase ridership. With a series of music videos by the “Transit Boyz”, the Houston public transportation system hopes to educate and encourage more passengers to ditch their...

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Poetic Waste

Having seemingly tried all other options to increase ridership on buses, Cap Metro is trying a new approach to make public transportation more pleasant: poetry. Alas, this new program won’t be free. The last verse leaves taxpayers footing the bill. Apparently having...

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Rebranding Success

Arlington ISD, another school district suing the state for more money, seems to have enough cash laying around to pay for better public relations. Who can blame them? They’re going to need it to help explain such a wasteful decision. Texas Watchdog reported yesterday...

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Administrative Excess in Dallas ISD

What’s $500,000 worth to you? To Dallas ISD, that’s the price to pay for new Superintendent Mike Miles. He’ll be taking over a district currently in the process of suing the state for more money. Dallas ISD just hired Mike Miles as the district’s new superintendent at...

Money To Play With

Money To Play With

The next time bureaucrats in higher education complain about parents, students and legislators suggesting there should be more oversight of our state-financed institutions, ask them about universities buying restaurants far above market-value. And for no immediate...

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Miscellaneous Waste in Elgin Middle School

How many breakfast tacos does it take to raise test scores? That’s a question parents should be asking Elgin Middle School administrators. They’ve been siphoning funds designated for educational expenses in order to feed themselves and their staff, while the district...

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Knock-Off Design & Over Budget

Well, you gotta hand it to Dallas politicians and the team at TxDOT: they not only paid a premium for an artsy, one-of-a-kind bridge that's coming in far over budget, but it turns out the bridge isn't all that original, either. And neither is the wasteful hit to the...