With the November election only 10 weeks away, I’ll spend my next few columns describing the important statewide races on the ticket and the Democratic vision for that office. First up: the Texas land commissioner.
This elected official oversees the General Land Office. Established in 1836, it’s the oldest state agency in Texas. The main role of the TLC is to oversee Texas’ 13 million acres of public lands – using the revenue streams from these lands to invest in the Texas Permanent School Fund.
The GLO contributes up to $600 million annually to the PSF, which funds K-12 public education in Texas. At $48 billion, the PSF is the largest educational endowment in the United States, yet Texas ranks near the bottom of the list in per-pupil education funding. While the fund has more than tripled over the last 30 years, the inflation-adjusted contribution to public schools by the fund has remained the same at about $1.2 billion.
