As state spending contracted in the 2011-12 school year, classroom sizes ballooned. And the fastest-growing school districts have been hit the hardest by larger classes.
Morgan Smith
Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality.
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.
Posted inState Government
The Freshman 30
No matter how the elections swing, one thing is certain about the 83rd legislative session: There will be a lot of new faces.
Posted inState Government
An Update on Who’s Not Coming Back Next Year
With the filing deadline passed and the electoral maps finalized at last, we’ve updated the 2012 quit list.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Special Prosecutor Appointed in Morton Case
A Houston lawyer with a long list of high profile clients has been tapped to be the prosecutor in the court of inquiry into possible misconduct in the case of Michael Morton, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1987.
Posted in
Higher Education
Perry Meets With Leader of Agency He Wants to Abolish
After U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised Texas’ in-state tuition policy for illegal immigrants, he and Gov. Rick Perry met to discuss a possible waiver for the No Child Left Behind Act.
Posted inPublic Education, State Government
Interactive: 25,000 Fewer Public School Employees
Public schools in Texas employ about 25,000 less employees than they did at this time last year. Use this interactive to see what happened in your school district.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: March 2, 2012
With May 29 primaries in place, the political jockeying has begun.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas Lawmakers to Study School Finance
As more than 500 school districts sue the state over how it funds its public schools, Texas lawmakers announced today they would form an interim committee to study school finance.
Posted in
Public Education
An Updated Guide to the School Finance Lawsuits
The latest school finance lawsuit following the state’s $5.4 billion cut to public schools suggests that schools need more competition.
Posted in
Public Education
In Fifth School Finance Suit, A Focus on Efficiency
A group of parents in Texas filed the fifth school finance lawsuit in Austin today, focusing not on whether the state adequately pays for schools but rather if the way it distributes money is efficient and equitable.
