Top 10 TX 2036 blogs you may have missed in 2022
Texas 2036 addressed key issues on several state policy areas throughout 2022 that had many Texans’ attention. We’ve rounded up our top 10 blogs this year that had readers coming back to learn more about the issues.
No. 10: Water crisis in Mississippi can happen in TX
A catastrophic water system failure in Jackson, Mississippi grippled national headlines this year. The casualties of the Jackson catastrophe ranged from the city’s economy and quality of life to an eviscerated public trust in its water system.
Texas 2036’s Jeremy Mazur dove in on the issue and how Texans are not immune to a similar crisis from happening in the Lone Star State.
Learn more: Water crisis in Jackson, Miss. can happen in Texas
No. 9: Learning about the TX Panhandle
Following our stop at the Texas Lyceum’s conference, “Sustainability of Texas Communities” in Amarillo in the fall, Texas 2036’s Hope Osborn took a look at what makes up the Texas Panhandle and why it matters.
Learn more: Lone Star State: Get to know the Texas Panhandle
No. 8: Drought in Texas
As temperatures rose and drought intensification appeared inevitable for much of Texas during the summer, a new report released by the Center for Public Finance at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, in partnership with Texas 2036, calculated the price Texas might soon pay for worsening droughts.
Learn more: Increasing drought conditions threaten Texas’ future prosperity
No. 7: ARPA funds
A year after Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Texas 2036 dove into how Texas could leverage the $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus bill to expedite recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more: How Texas can leverage federal funds under new ARPA rules
No. 6: 2021-22 STAAR results
After the release of the 2021-22 STAAR results this summer, Texas 2036 took a look at the data to better understand how the state made progress toward academic recovery and why Algebra I remained an issue for many Texas students.
Learn more: Texas makes progress on 2021-22 STAAR but Algebra I remains sore spot, results show
No. 5: Texas’ spending limits
Ahead of the Legislative Budget Board meeting in November, Texas 2036’s Rahul Sreenivasan broke down the key takeaways of how lawmakers would discuss and approve estimated growth rates for Texas’ tax spending and Consolidated General Revenue spending limits.
Learn more: Texas’ spending limits hearing: what to know
No. 4: Court backlogs
The COVID-19 pandemic affected virtually every facet of state government, and Texas’ criminal courts were no exception.
Texas 2036’s Luis Soberon’s report on addressing the criminal court backlog in Texas dove in on the issue and the solutions that Texas legislators can make.
Learn more: Justice delayed: Addressing the Criminal Court Backlog in Texas
No. 3: Texas’ Blue Ribbon Schools
Earlier this year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced the nomination of 26 Texas public schools as 2022 National Blue Ribbon School designees.
Texas 2036 showcased a list of the exemplary high performing schools and the exemplary achievement-gap-closing schools.
Learn more: Texas’ Blue Ribbon Schools show the path forward
No. 2: Remote work for state employees
In 2021, Texas employed an average of 144,655 full-time state agency workers, not including employees of higher education institutions. However, the turnover rate for state agency employment is at a 20-year high of 21.5% in 2021.
Texas 2036 examined the data and testified to the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce in May on how remote work could provide an opportunity to relieve a rising cost of living.
Learn more: Remote work provides an opportunity to relieve a rising cost of living
No. 1: Teacher shortage in Texas
The risk of a teacher shortage in Texas drew significant media and political attention earlier this year.
Texas 2036 took a look at the publicly available data to better understand the scope of Texas’ teacher shortage.
Learn more: Teacher shortage? What we know and what we don’t yet know