Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick giving remarks to Republican delegates from Texas on the first day of the Texas GOP Convention in May.

Gov. Greg Abbott smiles as he meets members of Taylor’s Organization after a rally about school vouchers Tuesday March 21, 2023, at Cypress Christian School in Houston. The group gave him an award they made. Abbott and his allies say the voucher effort is about school choice. Critics say they are private school vouchers that allow people to take money out of the public school system to benefit private schools.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has laid out his plan for dismantling public schools, even if it means failing to produce a workforce that will keep Texas’ economy going.

The man who calls himself a Christian first, a conservative second and a Republican third exercises an iron fist over the Texas Senate. He recently told the Texas Association of Rural Schools & Texas Association of Midsize Schools not to expect a significant increase in state funding, which has been unchanged since 2019 despite rampant inflation.

Instead, Patrick has promised to divert taxpayer money to private, mostly Christian schools backed by his billionaire benefactors.

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Texas Republicans are heading into the 89th Legislature in honey-badger mode, heedlessly pursuing ideological goals regardless of public opinion. Because just like the honey badger that has become an Internet meme, Patrick........

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