Dallas County Schools – the struggling school bus transportation bureaucracy beset with performance problems, safety issues, and financial mismanagement in recent years – is one step closer to being shut down permanently by legislation that passed out of a Texas Senate committee today.
Senate Bill 1122, authored by State Sen. Don Huffines (R-Dallas), was approved by the Senate Education Committee by a 9-1 vote. The bill would wind down the struggling agency, distribute DCS buses and facilities among participating school districts, and pay off its debt.
Dallas County taxpayers are currently on the hook for tens of millions in DCS debt – even though not all school districts in the county use the agency’s bus services.
In a statement on the SB 1122’s favorable passage out of committee, Huffines said:
“For far too long, the students, taxpayers, and schools in Dallas County have endured the unreliability, dangerous buses, and financial corruption of Dallas County Schools. The rogue central bureaucracy is outdated and unnecessary, and the Texas Senate took a big step today to bring it to an end. With the abolition of Dallas County Schools, the future will be brighter for Dallas students, taxpayers, and schools.”
The bill is expected to be considered by the full Senate next week.
