A school district recently grilled by state lawmakers over nearly $100 million directed to a private education foundation will now face a spending review from Comptroller Don Huffines.
Huffines announced Monday that Barbers Hill ISD is one of four districts selected for an examination of whether taxpayer dollars are reaching classrooms rather than fueling administrative growth and non-instructional expenses.
Austin, El Paso, and Prosper school districts were also selected for review.
The selection of Barbers Hill comes shortly after a contentious House Governmental Oversight hearing in August focused heavily on the district’s relationship with the Barbers Hill ISD Education Foundation, which has reportedly amassed approximately $250 million.
Austin and El Paso, meanwhile, were specifically singled out by Gov. Greg Abbott when he requested the reviews in August over declining enrollment and rising administrative spending.
“This review is an important step to ensure transparency, accountability, and the responsible use of public funds,” said Huffines. “I’ve informed Gov. Greg Abbott about the school districts we are examining. Our office is committed to providing a clear assessment that helps Texans understand how their education dollars are being used.”
The reviews were formally requested by Abbott in August as part of an effort to determine whether education dollars are reaching students, classrooms, and teachers rather than being consumed by administrative growth and non-instructional bureaucracy.
Abbott asked Huffines to select up to four districts of varying sizes and geographic locations.
The districts selected vary considerably in size. Austin ISD has 69,074 students enrolled for the 2025-26 school year, followed by El Paso ISD with 46,244, Prosper ISD with 33,583, and Barbers Hill ISD with 8,088.
When announcing the review in August, Abbott pointed specifically to Austin and El Paso ISDs as examples of districts where enrollment had declined while administrative spending increased.
According to Abbott, Austin ISD enrollment fell 14 percent between 2015 and 2025 while administrative spending per student increased 75 percent. In El Paso ISD, enrollment fell roughly 20 percent while administrative spending per student doubled.
“Simply put, too many tax dollars for schools are funding things that do not improve student outcomes,” Abbott said at the time.
Huffines similarly pointed to rising administrative expenses during a recent interview on Texas Scorecard’s Real Texans before the districts were selected.
“We don’t want a big administrative bloat,” said Huffines, noting that enrollment has fallen in many districts while administrative expenses have continued to increase.
“They just keep piling on more costs that aren’t going to the classroom,” he added. “That’s just one thing I’m going to look at.”
Barbers Hill, however, has recently faced scrutiny over a different aspect of its finances.
During a House Governmental Oversight hearing in August, lawmakers examined the district’s relationship with the Barbers Hill ISD Education Foundation. The Texas Public Policy Foundation told lawmakers that approximately $97.1 million was directed to the foundation between January 2012 and June 2025, while roughly $6.5 million flowed back to the district between 2010 and 2025.
Lawmakers also questioned overlapping leadership between the district and foundation and whether public money was effectively being moved into a private entity subject to different financial restrictions.
Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole defended the arrangement, describing the foundation as an “alternative funding structure” designed in part to offset money lost through the state’s Robin Hood recapture system.
“We’re not a bad actor,” Poole told lawmakers. “We have not done anything illegal, and I am not aware of any conflict.”
Poole said the foundation’s investment portfolio had generated roughly $100 million in proceeds and compared the strategy to building an Ivy League-style endowment.
“The only thing we’re really guilty of is eye-popping success,” he said.
Huffines has said the broader effort is necessary because Texas spends more than $100 billion on public education and taxpayers should have confidence that the money is being used “correctly and properly and effectively and efficiently.”
When launching the review in August, Huffines pledged to “document wasteful and inappropriate spending wherever we discover it and report our findings to the Legislature and the people of Texas.”
Abbott has also announced plans to seek legislation requiring school districts to spend at least 70 percent of their funds “in the classroom,” rather than on administrative expenses, staff, or bureaucracy.
The proposal would also require the state’s lowest-performing school districts to undergo comprehensive audits by the comptroller.
Huffines is expected to complete the reviews by December 31, giving the new Legislature time to consider the findings and potential reforms.
