Energy development capitalizing on the high winds in West Texas has injected sluggish rural communities with new economic lifeblood. The “windfall” has bestowed hundreds of millions of dollars on mostly tiny schools.
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
An Agency Left Behind?
Before he uttered the now famous “oops” in Thursday’s presidential debate, one of the federal agencies Gov. Rick Perry said he wanted to eliminate was the Department of Education. But what exactly would that mean?
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Oct. 31, 2011
Your afternoon reading: A new ad buy in South Carolina for Perry; Cain denies sexual harassment allegations; special interests in judicial campaign contributions.
Posted in
Public Education
Schooling the GOP
As the field of candidates shapes up for the March 2012 primaries, a new — at least since last election cycle — breed of GOP hopeful is emerging: the education Republican.
Posted in
Public Education
Some GOP Hopefuls for Texas House Pick Education Message
At least some Republican 2012 primary candidates for the Texas House hope to trade the anti-government cries of the last election cycle for a message with a decidedly different focus: the state of Texas public schools.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Updated: Morton Lawyers: Former DAs’ Claims “Wholly Deficient”
Michael Morton’s legal team responded today to claims from the exonerated man’s original prosecutors that they cannot be forced to testify as part of an inquiry into how Morton was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: October 21, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Mitt Romney swings at Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann staffers quit in New Hampshire, and Ron Paul makes a big ad buy.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: October 21, 2011
Today Rick Perry will visit the power hub of the city he hopes to call home for at least four years.
Posted in
Public Education
Education Board Could Give Schools More Control Over New Exams
The State Board of Education may try to modify the state’s rigid new standardized exams — the STAAR tests — in a way that allays school districts’ concerns that they’re losing local control over grading.
Posted inState Government
In Pennsylvania, Perry Calls to Energize America
Looking to turn the corner after a series of flat debate performances, Gov. Rick Perry today delivered the first major economic policy speech of his presidential campaign, calling for “a ‘made in America’ energy revolution.”
