Texas non-public colleges rent family and enrich insiders. Quickly they will do it with taxpayer cash – Houston Public Media

“Texas non-public colleges rent family and enrich insiders. Quickly they will do it with taxpayer cash.” was first printed by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media group that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public coverage, politics, authorities and statewide points.

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For about eight years, a Houston non-public college has adopted a singular sample when appointing members to its governing board: It has chosen solely married {couples}.

Over 200 miles away, two non-public colleges in Dallas have awarded greater than $7 million in mixed contracts to their board members.

And at the least seven non-public colleges throughout Texas have issued private loans, usually reaching $100,000 or extra, to their college leaders underneath phrases which can be usually hidden from public view.

Such practices would usually violate legal guidelines governing public and constitution colleges. However non-public colleges function largely outdoors these guidelines as a result of they have not traditionally acquired direct taxpayer {dollars}. Now, because the state strikes to spend at the least $1 billion over the subsequent two years on non-public schooling, lawmakers have imposed virtually not one of the accountability measures required of the general public college system.

If held to the identical requirements, 27 non-public colleges recognized by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune by means of tax filings probably would have violated state legislation. The information organizations discovered, and three schooling legislation consultants confirmed, greater than 60 enterprise transactions, board appointments and hiring selections by these colleges that may have run afoul of the state guidelines meant to stop self-dealing and conflicts of curiosity in the event that they have been public.

“It is frankly astonishing to me that anybody would suggest the large form of spending that we’re speaking about in these college voucher applications with, at greatest, minimal accountability,” stated Mark Weber, a public college finance lecturer at New Jersey’s Rutgers College who opposes vouchers. “If I have been a taxpayer in Texas, I might be asking, who’s going to be looking for me?”

Texas has lengthy stood as a holdout within the nationwide push for voucher applications, at the same time as different conservative states embraced them. Gov. Greg Abbott gave college voucher proponents a serious win this 12 months, signing into legislation one of many largest and costliest applications within the nation. In doing so, Abbott’s workplace has argued that the state has “strict monetary necessities,” saying that “Texas taxpayers count on their cash to be spent effectively and successfully on their behalf, each in non-public and conventional public colleges.”

The legislation, nevertheless, imposes no restrictions to stop the sorts of entanglements that the newsrooms discovered.

The distinction is sharp. Public or constitution college officers who violate these guidelines might be topic to elimination from workplace, fines and even state jail felony expenses.

Personal colleges face none of these penalties.

Supporters of the voucher program argue that oversight of personal colleges ought to come not from the state, however from their boards and {the marketplace}.

“In case you remodel the non-public colleges into public colleges by making use of the identical guidelines and laws and procedural necessities on them, then you definitely take the non-public out of the non-public college,” stated Patrick Wolf, an schooling coverage professor on the College of Arkansas. Wolf, who helps vouchers, stated that if dad and mom are sad with the colleges, they’ll maintain them accountable by leaving and taking their tuition {dollars} with them.

Usually, neither dad and mom nor the state’s taxpayers have entry to data that reveals exactly how non-public colleges spend cash. Solely these which can be organized as nonprofits are required to file public tax kinds that supply restricted data. Of the state’s greater than 1,000 accredited non-public colleges, many are exempt from submitting such filings as a result of they’re spiritual or for-profit establishments, leaving their enterprise conduct opaque. It’s unclear if non-public colleges that take part in Texas’ voucher-like program should element publicly how they use taxpayer {dollars}.

“The general public system isn’t all the time good, however when it is not good, we see it,” stated Pleasure Baskin, affiliate govt director for coverage and authorized providers on the Texas Affiliation of College Boards, which represents public districts throughout the state. “That type of transparency does not exist in non-public colleges.”

“Simply is not proper”

Conflicts of curiosity in schooling have been on the minds of legislators this spring. At an schooling committee listening to in March, Texas state Rep. Ryan Guillen, a Republican from Rio Grande Metropolis, alongside the southern border with Mexico, launched a invoice that may bar companies with shut ties to board members from making use of for varsity district contracts. Such offers have been beforehand permitted so long as college leaders publicly disclosed conflicts and abstained from voting.

However Guillen, who didn’t reply to requests for remark, argued these guidelines have been abused, pointing to latest scandals in two districts that led to state investigations and, in a single case, resulted in federal expenses.

He described his invoice as a “commonsense” proposal that may guarantee “nobody ready of energy can exploit the system for monetary profit.” The Legislature handed the invoice, which was signed into legislation by Abbott.

Notably, the measure excluded non-public colleges. In public testimony, nobody introduced them up, and there was no debate about them at the same time as lawmakers superior a proposal that may direct state cash to them.

[This charter school superintendent makes $870,000. He leads a district with 1,000 students.]

The newsrooms discovered at the least six non-public colleges that awarded contracts to corporations with ties to their board members.

Cristo Rey Dallas School Prep, a Catholic highschool serving primarily low-income college students of colour, awarded greater than $5 million to a development agency owned by one in every of its board members for “inside end” work between 2017 and 2021, tax filings present. The college didn’t reply to questions in regards to the funds. Raul Estrada, who was on the college board when his agency acquired the funds, stated he recused himself from any votes or selections associated to the contract. He added that the corporate’s work offered “substantial financial savings” to the college however didn’t present particular figures.

Simply 30 miles north, board members on the Shelton College, which focuses on educating college students with studying variations equivalent to attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction and dyslexia, have acquired a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} in funds during the last decade. Tax information present one trustee was awarded over $465,000 for landscaping, and one other collected greater than $1.2 million for “printed schooling materials.” The board members whose companies acquired the contracts didn’t reply to requests for remark. Suzanne Stell, the college’s govt director, stated the board members who acquired contracts weren’t concerned within the selections. Stell additionally stated that the contract for printed materials included coaching for educators.

Our investigation additionally discovered dozens of cases of nepotism or family serving on boards collectively at non-public colleges, a few of which have been began and are led by households.

Trinity Classical College in Houston, for instance, has lengthy maintained a family-led chain of governance on its college board unique to married {couples}, appointing a brand new pair every time one cycled off. The board deviated from that sample solely as soon as, when it chosen Neil Anderson, the college’s chief, in keeping with tax filings. None of the present board members responded to interview requests, nor did Anderson or the college.

Such preparations have been prohibited since 2012 in constitution colleges, that are restricted from appointing multiple member of the family to function a trustee on the similar time. Anderson’s appointment would additionally not be allowed in conventional public colleges, the place workers are barred from serving on their college’s governing board.

On the elite Greenhill College within the Dallas space, the place tuition can exceed $40,000 a 12 months, the earlier chief, Scott Griggs, employed his son to educate the boys’ volleyball crew and educate center college math. Whereas allowed in non-public colleges, state nepotism legal guidelines forestall public and constitution colleges from hiring shut family of superintendents and trustees, with few exceptions. Griggs instructed the newsrooms that he’d already introduced his retirement when he requested the board in 2017 to approve hiring his son, who didn’t reply to requests for remark.

The next 12 months, the faculty prep academy offered a private mortgage of almost $100,000 to its present head of college, Lee Hark, for a down fee on a house. The college didn’t disclose the phrases of the settlement in its tax filings, together with whether or not it charged curiosity or what would occur ought to Hark default. Hark declined to remark.

Personal colleges are usually free to make use of cash as they select, however a 150-year-old provision of the Texas Structure bars public colleges from lending taxpayer {dollars}. The state doesn’t require non-public colleges to publicly disclose whether or not taxpayer cash can be used for such preparations underneath the voucher program.

In a written assertion, a Greenhill spokesperson stated the college operates with “sound monetary rules” that meet or exceed “all requirements of accountability for unbiased colleges.” She stated the college charged curiosity on the mortgage and it has since been paid off, however didn’t present information.

Lots of the non-public colleges examined by the information organizations, together with Greenhill, stated that they’re nonetheless deciding whether or not to take part within the voluntary voucher program.

The shortage of accountability for personal colleges has sparked concern from public college dad and mom like Sarah Powell, a mom of two close to Dallas. She was amongst 1000’s who urged lawmakers to reject voucher laws earlier this 12 months.

“You are both a part of the system otherwise you’re not,” Powell later instructed the newsrooms. “You possibly can’t have the sources and never any of the laws. It simply is not proper.”

Repeating historical past

State funds flowing to public and constitution colleges are monitored by the Texas Training Company, which requires annual unbiased audits and assigns scores that gauge every college’s fiscal well being. Districts that repeatedly underperform threat sanctions, together with compelled closure.

The state, nevertheless, won’t instantly regulate non-public colleges underneath the brand new voucher program, which is able to start subsequent 12 months. As a substitute, supervision will largely fall to one in every of 20 non-public organizations, which colleges should pay to acquire and preserve the accreditation required to obtain public funds.

A evaluate by the newsrooms of those organizations’ requirements discovered they’re usually far much less rigorous than the state’s. Most don’t require annual monetary audits, which some accreditation organizations say may be too expensive and time-consuming, and many don’t mandate insurance policies to stop nepotism and conflicts of curiosity.

If a personal college loses accreditation from one group, it could merely apply to a different.

Texas lawmakers laid the groundwork for publicly funded colleges with restricted state oversight once they licensed constitution colleges within the Nineteen Nineties as a substitute for conventional public schooling. On the time, they exempted constitution colleges from many laws, betting that larger flexibility would result in innovation and stronger educational efficiency.

However over the previous three many years, the state has steadily elevated restrictions on constitution colleges in response to considerations about monetary mismanagement and educational efficiency. Constitution colleges, for instance, have been initially exempt from the state’s nepotism and conflict-of-interest legal guidelines, however lawmakers step by step modified that after stories uncovered leaders enriching themselves and their households. The state carried out one other spherical of stricter guidelines after newspapers uncovered lavish spending on perks equivalent to Spurs tickets and profitable land offers.

Whilst oversight of constitution colleges has been strengthened, gaps stay. Earlier this 12 months, a ProPublica and Tribune investigation discovered {that a} constitution community with 1,000 college students was paying its superintendent almost $900,000 yearly, making him among the many highest-paid public college leaders within the nation. But the college didn’t disclose the superintendent’s full compensation to the state and later rebuffed calls to decrease his wage from lawmakers and the advocacy group representing charters. The college board defended Cavazos’ wage, saying it was merited due to his duties and expertise.

“Wanting again on it in the present day, I believe it was vital,” Bob Schulman, a longtime schooling lawyer, stated about most of the reforms.

Schulman, who has represented Texas constitution colleges for many years, stated that some leaders abused the restricted state oversight for years, making it extra regarding that lawmakers launched a voucher program with even fewer laws.

“I am very disturbed,” Schulman stated. “However I am hopeful that it will likely be a faster turnaround than it was for the charters.”

How we reported this story

For this story, reporters reviewed nonprofit tax filings for 90 of the 200 highest-enrollment non-public colleges listed within the Texas Personal Colleges Accreditation Fee database. These filings weren’t out there for the opposite 110 colleges, as for-profit colleges or these tied to homes of worship aren’t usually required to make tax paperwork public. For the colleges that filed these information, reporters reviewed out there annual stories courting again to at the least 2015.

Reporters recognized greater than 60 cases involving conflicts of curiosity, nepotism and monetary transactions with associated events at 27 colleges. Three schooling attorneys confirmed our findings.

That whole, nevertheless, is probably going an undercount even throughout the pattern of colleges the newsrooms reviewed. Reporters recognized dozens extra conflicts listed in tax kinds, for instance, however the colleges offered sparse details about what they have been. Due to that, there isn’t any approach to decide if the conduct would have violated state legal guidelines if it had occurred at a public or constitution college. The newsrooms reached out to every college in regards to the lacking data, however none answered questions.

Assist ProPublica and The Texas Tribune report on schooling

Texas’ schooling panorama is altering. Our reporters at ProPublica and The Texas Tribune know that schooling coverage in the present day will form the state’s future for generations to come back. That’s the reason we’d like your assist masking this problem. Whether or not you are a instructor; mum or dad; college chief; pupil who has been affected by selections made on the native, state or nationwide degree; or one of many authorities workers shaping them, we need to hear from you. Inform us what points you imagine require larger oversight, whether or not they’re the affect of vouchers, misuse of public funds, disproportionate disciplinary insurance policies, funds deficits or anything that affects how college students study.

We admire you sharing, and we take your privateness significantly. We’re gathering these responses for our reporting and can contact you if we want to publish any a part of them.

Our crew could not be capable of reply to everybody personally, however we’ll learn the whole lot you submit. A reporter from ProPublica or the Tribune could attain out to study extra.

You may also contact reporter Lexi Churchill on Sign at 816-898-5462 you probably have delicate data to share.

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Disclosure: Texas Affiliation of College Boards has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no function within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full checklist of them right here.

This text initially appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-vouchers-private-schools-conflicts/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and interesting Texans on state politics and coverage. Be taught extra at texastribune.org.