Gov. Abbott: Legislation targeting HISD is 'nothing that I'm contemplating'

Governor Greg Abbott addresses the Senate as the 86th State Legislature convenes on January 8, 2019. Governor Greg Abbott addresses the Senate as the 86th State Legislature convenes on January 8, 2019. Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / Staff Photographer Photo: Tom Reel, Staff / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Gov. Abbott: Legislation targeting HISD is 'nothing that I'm contemplating' 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that legislation targeting Houston ISD is "nothing that I'm contemplating" as lawmakers begin their biennial session this week.

Abbott's comment comes one week after he blasted HISD's leadership as a "disaster" and retweeted two posts highlighting state Sen. Paul Bettencourt's pledge to file legislation that would change the way HISD trustees are elected.

"There could always be legislation (that could) come up. There is nothing that I'm contemplating," the Republican governor told reporters Wednesday during a press conference with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen.

"What I want to see is the local school districts take care of their business to educate their kids to prevent failing schools. We're committed to providing the resources that are needed and the strategies that will be needed to make sure that the children will be educated adequately, if not superiorly. But we do also expect school districts and their leaders to behave responsibly and to advance their schools appropriately."

Abbott and HISD trustees have clashed in recent days following the governor's blistering 43-word tweet about the district on Friday. Abbott wrote HISD's leadership "has failed the children they are supposed to educate," and that "if ever there was a school board that needs to be taken over and reformed, it's HISD."

Several trustees have responded that Abbott is unfairly demonizing the district, pointing to HISD's "B"-level grade this year under the state's new accountability system and its steep reduction in the number of schools failing to meet state academic standards.

Some trustees also have criticized Abbott and Republican legislators for not providing more funding for Texas schools. Abbott and lawmakers have pledged to reform Texas' school finance system this year and increase education funding during the 140-day legislative session, though they have not committed to how they will raise additional money for schools.

While Abbott has not endorsed legislation aimed at HISD, his retweets of posts about Bettencourt's proposed legislation raised questions about the governor's appetite for state-mandated change in the district.

Currently, HISD is divided into nine single-member districts, with no at-large representatives. That means voters only cast ballots in one race, choosing the trustee seeking to represent the single-member district in which the voter resides.

Over the past several weeks, Bettencourt has said he plans to introduce legislation changing the makeup of HISD's board to five single-member districts and four at-large seats. Under that setup, all voters could cast ballots in their single-member district race, as well as the four at-large races.

Bettencourt has said HISD's current board setup leads to trustees focusing too much on the needs of their own single-member districts, creating divisions that hurt HISD as a whole. Opponents of the legislation argue it represents an improper state intervention that will reduce geographic and racial diversity on the board.

In an interview Monday, Bettencourt said he likely will file his legislation next week.

Staff writer Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report.