Judge won't recuse himself from school finance case

AUSTIN – The Travis County district court judge overseeing a contentious trial over the state's school finance system rejected a request by the attorney general's office to recuse himself from the case.

Attorney General Greg Abbott's office asked state District Judge John Dietz on Monday to remove himself from the proceedings after learning of emails between Dietz and plaintiffs' lawyers, some of which state lawyers say "suggest that the judge is coaching the plaintiffs' counsel in order to improve their case."

In an order signed Monday, Dietz declined to step aside, instead asking Billy Ray Stubblefield, presiding judge of the 3rd Administrative Judicial Region of Texas, to assign a separate judge to hear the motion of recusal.

Dietz previously ruled the school finance system unconstitutional after the Texas Legislature cut roughly $5.4 billion out of Texas public schools in 2011. He reopened the trial earlier this year to weigh how restoration of some of those funds and new testing standards approved by state lawmakers will impact the system.

A ruling is expected this summer.