This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published. Also, sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.


ProPublica and the Texas Tribune are committed to telling overlooked stories about public schools. This election season, we want to understand the effects of heated political races on the people living, learning and teaching in districts across the state.

To see the full picture, we need to hear from people from across the political spectrum with a vested interest in public schools. You can help us identify important stories and ask the right questions as we report. Fill out the form below to join our source network. We also welcome specific tips, campaign finance reports and political mailers related to school district elections.

Are you seeing outside groups getting involved in school board or bond races in your community? Are you aware of big-money donors putting their thumbs on the scale? And most important, how have school board and bond campaigns and elections affected you?

We appreciate you sharing your story, and we take your privacy seriously. We are gathering these stories for the purposes of our reporting and will contact you if we wish to publish any part of your story.


We’ve got big things in store for you at The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Join us for three days of big, bold conversations about politics, public policy and the day’s news.

 Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Jessica Priest covers higher education, working in partnership with Open Campus. She joined the Tribune in 2022 as an engagement reporter in the ProPublica/Texas Tribune joint investigative unit, contributing...

Jeremy Schwartz has been an investigative reporter in Texas for nearly a decade, covering issues including voting rights and border security for the Austin American-Statesman and USA Today Network. His...

Lexi Churchill is a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative. Before joining ProPublica, Lexi interned at CNBC, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Columbia Daily Tribune and KCUR...

Dan Keemahill gathers and analyzes data on health outcomes and access in Texas. A native of Sacramento, Dan is a graduate of Northwestern University and started his journalism career as a contributor to...