school finance

State Business Group Joining School Finance Lawsuit

By Gerald Rich May 2, 2012

The Texas Association of Business announced today that it has joined a school finance lawsuit against the state, demanding a study of school system efficiency. Full Story

Credit: Gerald Rich
Interactive: How Much Do Superintendents Make?

By Morgan Smith and Ryan Murphy May 2, 2012

During the 2011 legislative session, we compiled a salary database of all the state’s highest-paid school administrators: superintendents. After a year and a $5.4 billion reduction in state funding to public education, we are doing it again. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Eddie Seal / Ryan Murphy
TribLive: A Conversation with Eissler and Hochberg

By Evan Smith April 30, 2012

Full video of my April 26 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston — the chair and vice chair, respectively, of the House Public Education Committee. Full Story
TribLive: Eissler and Hochberg on Per-Student Spending

By Evan Smith April 26, 2012

At this morning's TribLive conversation, House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Vice Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, disagreed over the theoretical correlation between per-student spending and academic performance. Full Story
Video: Is State System Helping Failing Districts?

By Justin Dehn and Thanh Tan April 10, 2012

In conjunction with Morgan Smith's "Death of a District" series, the Tribune presents a special video report on the role of accountability and whether the state's current standards are helping or hurting failing districts in Texas. Full Story
Six Years After District is Closed, Signs of Rebirth

By Morgan Smith April 9, 2012

Plagued by financial and academic troubles, Wilmer-Hutchins ISD was closed six years ago. Now, the area appears to be on the verge of academic transformation, with three new Dallas ISD campuses. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
District Still Has Work to Do After Cutting Sports

By Morgan Smith April 8, 2012

Premont ISD in South Texas has made drastic moves to improve its finances — including cutting high school sports. But critics fault the state's accountability and school finance systems, which they say punish districts that serve largely low-income populations. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Eddie Seal / Todd Wiseman
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey April 7, 2012

The first two parts of M. Smith's series on failing school districts (plus Murphy and Seger's interactive on how districts' characteristics relate to ratings), Root on lagging GOP candidates for president trying to shore things up in Texas, Ramshaw on a "fiscal switcheroo" to get federal money for women's health programs, Galbraith talks to a West Texas farmer about crop insurance and climate change and Aguilar on the money behind a lawsuit on long rifle sales: The best of our best content from April 2 to 6, 2012. Full Story

Credit: Allen Otto
North Forest Lives On, But So Do Its Struggles

By Morgan Smith April 6, 2012

North Forest ISD has gotten what amounts to a stay of execution. But the question of whether students would be better off attending different schools still lingers. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Michael Stravato / Todd Wiseman
Weekend Insider: Workers Comp, Houston School Closure

By Justin Dehn April 5, 2012

Wal-Mart looks to provide a cheaper alternative to workers compensation for their employees, and a Houston school district struggles with the possibility of closure. Full Story
Texas School District Closures Are Rare, But Should They Be?

By Morgan Smith April 5, 2012

There's little research that indicates closing districts will improve outcomes for students, but letting chronically low-performing and financially mismanaged schools stay open doesn't work either. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Citing Resources, Several Districts Steer Clear of School Funding Suits

By Anna Whitney April 3, 2012

Already facing budget cuts, almost half of the school districts in Texas haven't signed on to one of the five school finance lawsuits filed against the sate. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Slideshow: Save Our Schools Rally at Texas Capitol

By Morgan Smith March 24, 2012

Hundreds of educators, lawmakers and parents descended on the Capitol Saturday to protest cuts to public education. Here are some images from the scene. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Who Will Lead the Senate Education Committee?

By Morgan Smith March 22, 2012

Sen. Florence Shapiro’s departure means the end of a nearly two-decade-long tenure in the state Senate — and an opening in the top position on the Senate Education Committee for the first time since 2003. Full Story

Credit: Jeff Heimsath
Districts Take Advantage of STAAR Rule Change

By Anna Whitney March 21, 2012

School districts are taking advantage of the Texas Education Agency's decision to waive the requirement that STAAR exams count for 15 percent of students' grades for the 2011-12 school year. Full Story

Credit: Rune Mathisen
Schools Cope as Classes Expand and Staffs Shrink

By Morgan Smith March 16, 2012

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. Full Story

Credit: Jennifer Whitney
Weekend Insider: Class Sizes, Groundwater Limits

By Justin Dehn March 15, 2012

In this episode of the Texas Tribune Weekend Insider, we look at growing elementary class sizes and limits on groundwater use in West Texas. Full Story
Video: Arne Duncan Town Hall Meeting

By Justin Dehn March 9, 2012

Full video of Thursday's town hall meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the campus of Austin Community College. Full Story
At Public Universities, Graduation Rates Lag. But Do They Matter?

By Reeve Hamilton March 1, 2012

The four-year graduation rates at Texas' public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Spencer Selvidge / Ben Hasson / Todd Wiseman
Texas Lawmakers to Study School Finance

By Morgan Smith Feb. 29, 2012

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. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera