More than 740 Conroe ISD families applied for the state's new school voucher program in its first round. Now the race to lead the office that runs it could determine whether the program expands or faces a reckoning.

Comptroller Don Huffines, a Republican and former state senator, wants the Texas Legislature to more than double funding for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program. His Democratic challenger, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin, voted against the program and has pledged to audit it aggressively if elected. The two face off on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Conroe ISD logged 742 Priority Tier 1 TEFA applications, ranking fifth among Houston-area districts behind Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Katy ISD, according to the Houston Chronicle. The district also listed the impact of education savings accounts as a factor in setting its $769.6 million budget for the 2026-27 school year, Community Impact reported.

The Legislature created TEFA in 2025, allocating $1 billion for the 2026-27 school year. Participating students receive $10,474 each for private education expenses. Homeschool families can receive up to $2,000 per child. Students with disabilities are eligible for up to $30,000 each.

Demand has far outpaced supply. The program received more than 270,000 applications in its first year, and about 248,000 were deemed eligible, Houston Public Media reported. Huffines announced in August that 101,600 students had received funding, leaving more than 106,000 on a waitlist.

The Comptroller's Office has asked lawmakers to provide more than $2 billion for TEFA in the 2028-29 biennium, according to Community Impact's reporting on the appropriations request. The nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board projected during the 2025 session that TEFA funding could reach $3.3 billion by 2028 and $4.8 billion by 2030.

The two candidates offer sharply different visions for what comes next.

Huffines told CW39 he wants every family in the public school system to know about the program and said he plans to expand it through marketing if he wins in November.

Eckhardt has called for rigorous oversight. "Audits are absolutely crucial in the voucher program, so that the legislature can be well informed of how this is, in all probability, going to become a runaway subsidy," she told CW39.

Dee Carney, director of the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, raised a related concern at a September legislative hearing. The Comptroller's funding request did not include money for a program evaluation required by state law, Carney said, according to Houston Public Media.

About 70% of students in TEFA or invited to participate already attended private school or were homeschooled. About 30% came from Texas public schools. Roughly 80% of participants are from low-income families, and 24% have a disability, according to Community Impact.

Voter registration for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, election closes Monday, Oct. 5. Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 30.