With infrastructure needs in Texas ranging from $80 billion in water supply to $179 billion for highways and untold amounts for schools, state legislators are implementing new financing mechanisms, rewriting state policy and convening special sessions to make projects a reality. With its student population growing, officials attending a conference on public finance in Austin earlier this month complained they are still cash-strapped. State school districts spend about $30 billion annually on public education, but "there has to be more money," said Clayton Downing, executive director of the Texas School Coalition. The group is now in court seeking more capacity by raising the cap on the amount of property taxes that can be used for schools.
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