Capitol Update I write to you from the Texas Capitol, where the House just overwhelmingly passed a major school finance reform package, House Bill 3. If finally passed into law, this legislation would provide $9 billion to fill critical funding gaps for public schools, with a special focus on improving student achievement, pay raises for teachers, and lowering our reliance on local property taxes to fund our schools. While this legislation still needs to pass through the state Senate and onto the Governor, the House passed it with 149 out of 150 votes. Funding our public schools at the level necessary to ...