BG Reads // June 6, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
June 06, 2025

Presented By

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🏙️📈 Focused on real affordability, City Council moves to improve density bonus programs (Austin Monitor)

📉🌐 Many Austin businesses cutting back on spending amid tariff uncertainty (Austin Business Journal)

🏆📚 These 3 Austin high schools are among Texas' top 10 (Austin American-Statesman)

🏫⚠️ School closures expected as Austin ISD launches plan to address $100M deficit (CBS Austin)

🗣️🏛️ Speaker Dustin Burrows, once tagged as “liberal,” kept skeptics at bay by leaning into a conservative agenda (Texas Tribune)

🚗📈 Tesla shares rise as investors cheer Musk-Trump peace call (Reuters)

🤠📈 Texas Stock Exchange stands by 2026 debut (Dallas Morning News)

Read on!

Your answers help us shape content and build a stronger community.

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️: Austin City Council Regular Meeting // Yesterday, June 5, 2025

🏛️ City Memos:

🏛️ City Leadership

  • On July 18th, 2024, Austin's City Council directed the City Manager to bring a comprehensive bond package for Austinites to approve through an election by November 2026.

  • The 2026 General Obligation (GO) Bond is an opportunity to invest in the future of our city, but it’s important that it reflects the priorities and needs of our community.

  • That’s why we’re asking for your input. Whether you attend a community meeting, fill out a survey, or engage with us online, your feedback will help shape the projects that move forward. Additionally, tell your family and friends to participate too!

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Focused on real affordability, City Council moves to improve density bonus programs (Austin Monitor)

City Council voted Thursday to initiate a review and potential overhaul of the city’s density bonus programs, signaling a shift toward more flexible and customized incentives to promote affordable housing and community benefits across different parts of the city.

The resolution was supported by all of City Council but Council Member Krista Laine, who abstained. It directs city staff to develop new types of density bonus combining districts in the Land Development Code. The proposed changes could introduce districts with varying height entitlements, tailored affordability standards, and a broader menu of community benefits such as ground floor activation, civic space, and design upgrades.

Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, who introduced an amended motion adopted as part of the final resolution, added language aimed at ensuring one-to-one replacement of demolished units is considered as part of future redevelopment requirements. Equalizing the replacement of naturally occurring affordable units in redevelopment projects was one of the biggest concerns of the dozens of public comments about displacement risks prior to the vote.

The resolution also calls for staff to recalibrate existing programs, including DB90 and Vertical Mixed Use (VMU) zoning, to align with the new framework. It calls for the creation of a “hierarchy” of bonus districts, an approach that could allow for differentiated standards across neighborhoods rather than a one-size-fits-all model… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ These 3 Austin high schools are among Texas' top 10. See the full list (Austin American-Statesman)

Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin school districts are all well-represented in Texas' top 10 public high schools. Rankings show that three of the top 10 schools are in the Austin area.

The rankings and reviews, curated by Niche, rate schools on a broad range of factors including academic rigor, extracurriculars, student body diversity, staffing, funding, facilities and more…

#3. Liberal Arts and Science Academy (Austin)

Austin's first entry on the list is Liberal Arts & Science Academy, a magnet school with a little under 1,500 students and roughly 18 students to each teacher. The school scores high in diversity of the student body, college prep, quality of teachers and academic rigor. The competitive student body contributes to strong performance and college matriculation, but reviews from students and parents raise concerns about burnout and stress.

#7. Westwood High IB World School (Round Rock)

Another Austin entry, Westwood emphasizes honors, AP and IB courses. The nearly 3,000 students are offered small class sizes of about 16 students per teacher and rate their college prep highly. Athletics are rated higher at Westwood than most schools in the top 10, but are still secondary to education and competitive academics. Students earn an average score of 1360 on the SAT and 31 on the ACT. Diversity and teacher quality are also rated highly, but once again, food earns a C rating.

#9. Westlake High School (Eanes)

Austin's third entry on the list, Westlake, offers a well-rounded high school experience as the first school in the top 10 awarded an A or A+ in academics, teachers, college prep, clubs and extracurricular activities, sports and food, while diversity was rated B+. Students earned strong average test scores of 1360 on the SAT and 31 on the ACT. In addition to strong sports teams, the school is also internationally recognized for its competitive band program.

✅ Many Austin businesses cutting back on spending amid tariff uncertainty (Austin Business Journal)

Businesses in the Austin area are tightening their belts and scaling back growth plans amid the continued uncertainty fueled by the evolving U.S. tariff policies.

That’s according to a panel of local business leaders who discussed what they described as the overall negative impact of the current tariff environment during a June 4 event in Austin hosted by the Texas Association of Business.

“There's only so much in a playbook of being able to react to tariffs,” said Dave Childress, a founder of Fast Friends Beer Co., which is a South Austin craft brewing company that launched two years ago. “We're hunkered down and trying to cut costs and realizing that we can't invest in more awareness and ads.” 

John Garrett, founder and CEO of news organization Community Impact, said he also is seeing businesses pull back on spending. Community Impact, which publishes over 40 print editions across Texas, gets most of its revenue through advertising from small businesses.

“Some of the retailers, some of our customers we talk to, are saying … ‘We don't know what to expect, so we're not doing anything, we're not hiring, we're not investing in the business,’” Garrett said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Tesla shares rise as investors cheer Musk-Trump peace call (Reuters)

Tesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump threatened to cut off government contracts to Musk's companies, while Musk suggested Trump should be impeached, turning their relationship into an all-out brawl on social media.

The electric carmaker's shares were up around 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150 billion in market value.

"It's unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are obviously threats that are unlikely to come into fruition," said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index.

"I don't expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days."

Analysts said some of Thursday's selloff was down to factors beyond Musk's personal relationship with the president… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ School closures expected as Austin ISD launches plan to address $100M deficit (CBS Austin)

Austin ISD is beginning early planning for a school consolidation process that could result in campus closures starting in the 2026–27 school year.

District officials say the move is driven by long-term budget pressures, declining enrollment, and the need to ensure schools are better staffed and resourced.

While no specific schools have been confirmed yet, leaders confirmed during a virtual meeting Wednesday that closures are expected.

“To be frank, no one wants us to close their schools. We don’t want to close anyone’s school,” said Dr. Rachel French, AISD’s Chief of Schools. “But we are in a position, as a district, where this is the best choice to make with where we are.”

AISD says it has already made $63 million in non-campus cuts this year but still faces a shortfall of more than $100 million. Officials warned that without action, the district could run out of savings by 2026, forcing emergency borrowing, more layoffs, or a potential state takeover.

“Our resources are spread too thin, and all of our schools are feeling the pinch,” French said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS NEWS]

✅ Speaker Dustin Burrows, once tagged as “liberal,” kept skeptics at bay by leaning into a conservative agenda (Texas Tribune)

Back in December, Rep. Dustin Burrows’ grasp on the speakership was, at best, tenuous.

His main rival, Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, had already won the endorsement of the House Republican Caucus, a victory his backers argued should’ve clinched his ascent to speaker of the GOP-controlled Texas House.

Instead, Burrows, surrounded by Republicans willing to defy caucus rules, claimed just minutes later that the race was over and that he had the 76 votes needed to lock up the gavel. He touted an even mix of Democratic and GOP support, though some Republicans immediately asked for their names to be removed, pushing him back under the threshold to win.

The competing pronouncements deepened a bitter, months-long power struggle within a Republican Party that had churned through three speakers in four sessions, and it amplified demands by grassroots activists to sideline Democrats and lean into the party’s most partisan impulses… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos face off in San Antonio mayoral runoff Saturday (Texas Standard)

San Antonio residents are set to choose the city’s new mayor in a runoff election this Saturday. 

There were 27 candidates in the original race in May to replace Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who reached his term limit in the office. None of the candidates on that very long ballot received the majority of votes, so the two candidates with the highest percentages moved forward to this runoff. 

Former Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and two-time Democratic Congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones received the highest vote count with more than 27% of the total. She’ll face former Republican Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, who earned more than 16% of the vote.

Josh Peck, who covers city hall for Texas Public Radio in San Antonio, said Ortiz Jones has been emphasizing her liberal credentials on the campaign trail.

“She’s really put herself out there as someone who can be a more progressive option for mayor. She has endorsements from a large array of Democratic officials,” Peck said.

“She said that she’s going to take San Antonio into a compassionate direction and has been really using her opponent, Rolando Pablos, as an example of what she won’t do. She says that he is tied to Gov. Greg Abbott and using that as a cudgel against him as something that San Antonio won’t want in their city.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ High-tension Houston City Council meeting ends with greenlight of Mayor John Whitmire’s $7B budget (Houston Chronicle)

The City Council approved Mayor John Whitmire’s nearly $7 billion budget on Wednesday after months of strenuous efforts to cut costs and streamline services as officials contended with the largest deficit in Houston’s history. The nearly eight-hour, high-tension meeting included a protest from members of storm recovery nonprofit Northeast Action Collective that ended with the clearing of the council chambers by City Hall security officers.

Whitmire's budget passed with a near-unanimous vote, with only Council Members Edward Pollard, Abbie Kamin and Tiffany D. Thomas voting in opposition. Pollard voted no over his worries about the city continuously spending more than it was bringing in, and Kamin voted no due to her concerns about the budget inadequately accounting for disaster response.

"Mayor, it's not personal," Kamin said. "I respect you. There's a lot of hard work that has been put into this by city staff, and I hope that your administration will not seek retribution against the district and our residents." Houstonians will not be hit with any additional fees or tax increases as a result of the budget. This year, the city contended with a $330 million deficit. As costs climbed, Whitmire’s team unveiled the results of an efficiency study in February that pointed out a need for Houston to make its government more responsive to constituents and make fixes in its procurement process. That effort served as a roadmap for the administration as it moved through the budget cycle.

“Listen, I’ve voted on many budgets in my career,” Whitmire said Wednesday before the budget vote. “It’s always easy to find fault. There is no such thing as a perfect budget, and it’s so easy to be against something than for something, particularly when you don’t have to offer up any solution.” Whitmire added, “I’m proud of the budget. We were told we couldn’t do it, we couldn’t balance it, by political critics. We ignored it. We went forward. … This is a giant step, but we need to now talk to constituents going forward about what type of city they want to live in.”…  🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas Stock Exchange stands by 2026 debut (Dallas Morning News)

Texas Stock Exchange is on track to make its debut as a trading venue early next year as its powerful rivals intensify their push into the state, said Jeb Hensarling, an adviser to the proposed marketplace and former U.S. congressman.

After the start of trading, the upstart exchange aims eventually to add dual listings, initial public offerings and exchange-traded products, Hensarling said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The TXSE is seeking federal regulatory approval as a national securities exchange after applying earlier this year.

TXSE is trying to carve out a niche as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq fortify their footprints in the state. The NYSE, which recently moved its Chicago equities exchange to Texas, has announced a series of dual listings in recent weeks, while Nasdaq set up a regional headquarters in Dallas earlier this year. Become a business insider with the latest news. Their sharpened focus underscores the state’s efforts to attract more business and capital, said Hensarling, a Republican who led the House Financial Services Committee as a congressman from Texas.

State lawmakers recently passed measures to strengthen a new system of business courts and raised the threshold for shareholders to start certain proxy fights. In November, voters will weigh a ballot measure that would add a ban on financial transaction taxes to the state constitution. “Texas is the place in America where people want to go to do business,” Hensarling said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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