Sep 12, 2012

Oil, Gas Boom Makes School Districts Rich but Uneasy by Ross Ramsey School districts can get rich just as fast as the people in the oil bidness, and the poor-to-rich whiplash can have some weird aftereffects. Texas public schools get about half of their money, on average, from property taxes. And when the property turns out to be sitting on top of the Eagle...

Aug 9, 2012

Testing Firm Hits Back Against Claims of Flaws by Morgan Smith The state’s test vendor has fired back at research from a University of Texas at Austin professor that calls into question the method it uses to develop Texas standardized exams, saying that his claims lack factual evidence. Denny Way, the senior vice president for measurement services at...

Feb 29, 2012

One consequence of lawmakers' $5.4 billion cut to Texas public schools? Five school finance lawsuits filed against the state, covering more than 500 districts and 3 million students.

Feb 7, 2012

When Christopher Chamness entered the third grade last year, he began to get stomach aches before school. His mother, Edy, said the fire had gone out of a child who she said had previously gone joyfully to his classes.

Feb 3, 2012

A plan to save a school district has come down to rows of yellow Post-it notes... Scrawled on one are two words that have brought national attention to the tiny 570-student school district in South Texas: "suspend sports."

Nov 24, 2011

by Morgan Smith, The Texas Tribune The Texas Education Agency has released new guidelines that set tough thresholds for school districts hoping to take advantage of special legal exemptions passed by the Legislature and intended to help schools cope with significant budget cuts. A school district’s declaration of  “financial exigency” is necessary to...