BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2688

By: VanDeaver

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Every year, there are reports of school boards awarding superintendents large salary increases and then within a year voting to buy out the superintendent's contract. Many times these salary increases and buyouts amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars and all at taxpayer expense. H.B. 2688 seeks to address this issue by providing members of the public the ability to reaffirm the right of trustees who vote in favor of making a severance payment to terminate a superintendent's contract to continue serving on their local school board at the next regularly scheduled trustee election.    

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2688 amends the Education Code to require a trustee of an independent school district to seek reelection at the next regularly scheduled trustee election to maintain a position on the board of trustees, regardless of the time remaining on the trustee's term, in the following circumstance:

· the trustee votes in favor of making a severance payment to the district's superintendent as a condition of early termination of the superintendent's contract in an amount that exceeds the amount earned by the superintendent under the contract as of the date of termination; and

· the trustee casts that vote less than one year after the trustee voted in favor of accepting or extending the superintendent's contract or increasing the superintendent's salary.

The bill requires the person elected at that election to serve for the remainder of the trustee's term.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.