Harrris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Still Wants to Talk About Early Childhood Education

Harris County is days away from adopting its $2.7 billion budget, sinking in debt, and grappling over how to prioritize flood control projects, but County Judge Lina Hidalgo can’t stop talking about an early childhood program she tried — and failed — to fund through a tax increase earlier this year.

The Democratic judge has been at odds for months with Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia, members of her own political party, as well as Republican Commissioner Tom Ramsey. At the heart of most of the arguments is money.

Briones and Garcia, who are both up for re-election in 2026, were noticeably absent from Hidalgo’s State of the County address last Friday. The event, sponsored by Greater Houston Partnership, was billed as an opportunity to hear from the judge on infrastructure, storm resilience, and economic mobility. Hidalgo, however, spent more than half of her allotted 40 minutes directing guests at the Marriott Marquis to a PowerPoint presentation on early childhood education.

The judge is clearly still salty about a thwarted attempt on August 7 to let voters decide on a one-penny tax for the kids’ education program funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars that expire next year.

Commissioners Ramsey, Briones and Garcia — referred to by Hidalgo as the “GOP three” — not only rejected the judge’s plea to continue funding the program but denounced her effort to involve children to sway votes, saying her behavior was inappropriate. Ramsey proposed a censure of the judge, which was supported by Briones and Garcia.

“We need to get better leadership,” Ramsey said at the time. “We don’t have time for this.”

Commissioners Court is scheduled to adopt its budget and tax rate on September 18.

Since the August discussion on the childhood education program, the Harris County Commissioners Court has moved on to other budget debates, primarily centered on how to combat a $200 million deficit and how to compete with law enforcement pay at the Houston Police Department.

Well, most of the Commissioners Court has moved on.

“To get politicians to agree on something like putting [money] into early childhood education is harder than getting toddlers to agree on bedtime,” Hidalgo said at last week’s State of the County.

The judge touched briefly on public safety, noting that she and Commissioner Ellis proposed $100 million in raises for county law enforcement, a measure that passed and is included in the proposed budget.

But Hidalgo and Ellis voted against doubling the salaries of Harris County’s eight constables, who have asked for pay hikes to $290,000 per year, which amounts to more than the annual salary for Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and just slightly less than that of Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz. That measure passed 3-2 and is also included in the proposed budget slated for adoption next week.

Briones and Garcia have indicated they support “pay parity” and are concerned about losing law enforcement officers to the Houston Police Department. A recently approved $1 billion Houston police contract includes a 36.5 percent raise for officers spread across five years.

It was clear at last week’s event that Hidalgo wanted to avoid the rift among county officials and instead talk about the childhood education program, as she asked the audience to support her in ensuring that the matter is on the ballot in 2026.

“You all understand that our workforce depends on what we do right now for those kids who are going to grow up and be in the future workforce,” she said. “You are the movers and shakers who are going to be able to spread the word about what we’re trying to do. Also, a lot of you have been able to get to where you are while raising children, so you know how hard it is.”

The penny tax Hidalgo proposed would have cost the average Harris County homeowner roughly $24 more a year in taxes, and it would have provided educational opportunities for about 25,000 families, she said.

“I may not be a mom, and I’m certainly not a teacher, but I do understand the importance of early childhood education, and I don’t think you have to be a parent or a teacher or somebody who works with kids in order to do so,” she said.

The judge outlined data showing that the program is successful and voters would have supported it, according to a poll.

“Early childhood education is popular because everyone understands how important it is,” she said. “What this shows you, in my mind, is a bipartisan reticence at the politician level to support early childhood education, when, at the community level, there is huge support for it. This disconnect between politics and the needs of the community does not stick with one party or the other.”

“These kids are going to lose access to the programs,” she added. “It’s really important that we put this on the ballot in November of 2026. There is no excuse not to do it.”

Following Hidalgo’s presentation, the judge dodged a question from Greater Houston Partnership president and CEO Steve Kean about whether she’ll seek re-election to a third term.

“I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to break news on that here today, but it’s coming very, very, very, very soon,” she said.