Four candidates are running for Texas comptroller, the state's chief financial officer. The office oversees the $1 billion Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, a school voucher fund that helps pay for private or home schooling. The Republican candidate is Don Huffines, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Greg Abbott this spring. The Democratic candidate is state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt. The Green Party and Libertarian candidates are Shehla Faizi and V. Alonzo Echavarria-Garza.
Huffines has supported a voucher system for a long time. He told the Texas Tribune in April that he is "a champion" of the program and said demand will keep growing. The state counted more than 274,000 requests for TEFA money, and more than 100,000 students received some funding before the program reached its billion-dollar cap. Huffines said state law requires the comptroller to include everyone on the waitlist in the budget, though the Legislature does not have to fund it. In his appropriations request, he asked lawmakers to add another $1 billion to the program for the 2028-29 biennium.
Eckhardt disagrees with that approach. She told KERA that officials should see the results of a new program before doubling its funding. KERA said Huffines did not respond to its requests for an interview.