Morgan Smith
reports on politics and education for the Tribune, which she joined in November 2009. She writes about the effects of the state budget, school finance reform, accountability and testing in Texas public schools. Her political coverage has included congressional and legislative races, as well as Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign, which she followed to Iowa and New Hampshire.
In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for "Death of a District," a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor's degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas.
A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.
msmith@texastribune.org
512.716.8620
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Gov. Rick Perry unfolding a Texas map on Dec. 31, 2011, to show Des Moines residents where his hometown of Paint Creek is located.
As his bus tour rolls to a stop and his campaign readies for the critical Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, the Texas governor appears to be hitting his stride after months of bumbles.
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Rick Perry gives his last speech of 2011 in Boone, Iowa on December 31, 2011.
After the last two scheduled stops of his tour today, Gov. Rick Perry made an impromptu visit to a local precinct leader and knocked on a few doors in a West Des Moines neighborhood.
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A casual candidate Rick Perry poses for photographs with Iowans December 29, 2011 in Marshalltown.
Amid renewed attacks on Rick Santorum today, Gov. Rick Perry answered a question that's been on many minds since July: the whereabouts of his signature cowboy boots.
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The San Antonio Riverwalk looking south from the Commerce St bridge, Thursday, December 22, 2011.
In the last decade, companies have flocked to San Antonio, making it an economic center rivaling Houston and Dallas, and rattling the Alamo City's pre-existing inferiority complex.
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Republican candidate Rick Perry, right, speaks to Washington, Iowa voters on December 29, 2011.
On the heels of a CNN/Time poll showing Rick Santorum climbing into third place in Iowa, Gov. Rick Perry took a swipe at him during the first stop of his bus tour today.
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Gov. Rick Perry campaigning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 28, 2011.
In front of an energetic crowd in Cedar Rapids, Gov. Rick Perry was taken off guard by a question on a famous Supreme Court case striking down anti-sodomy laws.
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Rick Perry speaks in Indianola, Iowa on December 28, 2011
Save for a few veiled swipes at his Republican rivals, Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday reserved most of his ire for President Obama, and threw in a new criticism — that the president had failed to give troops returning from Iraq a parade.
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Rick Perry clasps his hands while leaving the Glenn Miller Museum in Clarinda, Iowa on December 27, 2011
At an Iowa town hall meeting tonight, Gov. Rick Perry said his views on abortion had undergone a "transformation" — and that he no longer supported it in cases of rape or incest.
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Gov. Rick Perry and Sheriff Joe Arpaio campaign in Creston, Iowa on December 27, 2011.
Gov. Rick Perry kicked off the second leg of his Iowa tour today with a familiar companion: Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
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University of Texas at Austin President, William Powers - Dec. 14, 2011
It's been a year marked by high profile wars waged by UT President Bill Powers — to some, the university’s Dumbledore; to others, a bee in the bonnet of higher education reformers. The latest drama is unfolding in the law school he used to run.
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photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman
By the end of the year, there will likely be four school finance lawsuits filed against the state. Here's a primer.
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Former dean Larry Sager gestures while speaking with a visitor in his former office at the UT Law School on December 12, 2011.
Who knew about the $500,000 payment Larry Sager received from the University of Texas School of Law’s foundation — and when — are among the many questions swirling after his surprise ouster as dean last week.
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One question has dominated education conversations in Texas since even before the 2011 legislative session and budget slashing began: How will public schools be affected? The answers are many and varied.
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photo illustration by: Bob Daemmrich / Todd Wiseman
After months of bubbling discontent among professors over the law school’s faculty compensation practices, University of Texas School of Law Dean Larry Sager was forced to resign his position Thursday.
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State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, speaks to the press about two school finance measures filed on March 8, 2011
The Legislature's foremost expert on school finance and one of its top public education advocates, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, confirmed this afternoon that he won't seek re-election next year.
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