Sen. Gallegos on the attack

*State Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, continued his public blasting of Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier, this time ridiculing him (and fellow Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis) over a bill that would allow HISD to use local funds to start the school year early at the Apollo campuses. Gallegos was upset — so much so that Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, jumped in— because at least one HISD board member, Juliet Stipeche, didn’t know about the bill, and there has been some concern about using tax dollars to fund the Apollo program.

*The Texas Tribune details the complexity of school districts simply dipping into their own reserve funds to fix the state’s budget shortfall. For what it’s worth, the story notes HISD’s larger-than-recommended reserves.

*A Senate subcommittee on education funding approved a plan to cut the main education fund by $4 billion, about half as much as the still-not-finalized House plan. The Senate plan, according to the latest model, would cut HISD by $105.6 million next year and $119.9 million in 2012-13, according to the district’s director of governmental relations, Rebecca Flores. To emphasize, nothing is final.

*This school year marks the first time that Hispanic children represent a majority (50.2 percent) of the 4.9 million students enrolled in Texas public schools, Austin bureau reporter Gary Scharrer reports.