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Thursday, August 31, 2023

Good morning,

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, August 31, 2023.

– Brandon Waltens

A proposed wind farm off the coast of Galveston may be dead in the water, after not a single company bid to take the project. Katy Marshall has the details.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auctioned off three proposed wind farm leases on Tuesday, including one in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two areas 24 miles offshore from Galveston. While the Lake Charles location was secured, no companies took a chance on the Galveston leases.
Both initiatives are part of the Biden administration’s recent push to shift U.S. energy reliance away from oil and natural gas. Last year, Biden set a goal to produce 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, which the administration claims could power 10 million homes—seven percent of the total number of U.S. homes.
“The liberal fantasy around so-called ‘green’ energy is a lie. There is a place for every type of energy generation; however, wind and solar have repeatedly proven to be unreliable when consumers need it most.” –Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham

Two coaches in scandal-plagued Prosper Independent School District are charged with failing to report a student’s claim that a fellow female athlete sexually assaulted three teammates at sleepovers during the summer.
Erin Anderson reports Prosper High School’s head softball coach, Renna Bersosa, was arrested on August 25 and charged with failure to report child abuse, a misdemeanor. She was released from Collin County Jail on a $3,500 bond. Assistant coach Kasie Ostrom was arrested on August 29 and was also charged with failure to report child abuse. She was released on a $1,500 bond.
According to a report, the student told police that she and her mother met with Bersosa and Ostrom on August 7, two days before school started. They reportedly told the coaches that “three athletes were sexually abused and raped by another player.”
The student told police Bersosa said the accused attacker was “a good player” and “they didn’t want to lose her.” The student alleged Bersosa did not want to report the player because of her “athletic ability."
Educators are required by state law to report any suspected child abuse to authorities within 48 hours. A notice sent to parents by the district following the incident claimed employees undergo training “to ensure they know the proper steps to report such cases.”

Trustees in Spring Branch Independent School District voted unanimously to stop sending “Robin Hood” recapture payments to the state. Emily Medeiros has the details.
The “Robin Hood” plan, a nickname given to school finance legislation enacted in 1993, involves local property taxes that are “recaptured” from property-wealthy school districts and sent to the state. The funds are then redistributed to less wealthy districts across Texas.
The Republican Party of Texas has called for abolishing the program, stating their opposition to “Robin Hood schemes that raise tuition for some students to give to others.”
According to Christine Porter, SBISD’s associate superintendent for finance, the district has sent over $200 million to the state since 2020.

After Austin Independent School District bused students and staff to the city’s LGBT parade earlier this month, the Texas Public Policy Foundation discovered the district spent more than $8,000 on the event. Sydnie Henry has the report.
“We are proud to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and families,” Austin ISD said on its website before the parade.
The Austin Police Department, Austin EMS, and the Austin Fire Department also attended the event. Sponsors for the event included the University of Texas’ Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and the Austin Community College District.
Meanwhile, data from the Texas Education Agency shows only half of Austin ISD students perform at or above grade level across all subjects.

Citing the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton as a catalyst for his decision, conservative activist Tom Glass has announced his candidacy for the Texas House.
The announcement sets up a rematch between himself and State Rep. Stan Gerdes (R–Bastrop). Glass ran in a five-way open race for the House District 17 seat last year, but came in third.
Glass called the Paxton impeachment the “crystalizing event” motivating him to run again. Gerdes, one of the 60 Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton earlier this year, did not respond to a request for comment.