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A New Run at School Choice
As he addressed a recent luncheon at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, state Rep. Phil King delivered a verdict on Texas public schools.“This 40-year experiment in the state — running public...
View ArticleVideo: Texas Weekly Newsreel: Property Tax, Speed Limit, PAC Money
This week on the Newsreel, a look at property taxes versus sales taxes, 85-mph speed limits and Super PAC contributions from Texas.
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The Search for a Less Unpopular School Tax
Some Texans want to kill property taxes. Some want to create a new one.Right in the middle of a policy debate over whether to swap property taxes for higher sales taxes and weeks before a state...
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Curtis Culwell: The TT Interview
When Curtis Culwell got his first job in education more than four decades ago, he said it was considered high-tech to have an overhead projector and colored chalk in the classroom.Now, after education...
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Dewhurst Declares Support for School Choice Legislation
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, throwing some red meat to conservatives after his bruising defeat at the hands of Tea Party darling Ted Cruz, has put private school vouchers and expanded...
View ArticleVideo: Weekend Insider: RNC Convention, Texas School Demographics
In this edition of the Weekend Insider: We check in with Jay Root on the road at the Republican National Convention, and Morgan Smith looks at the changing demographics in Texas public schools.
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Schools Turn to Parents' Dollars for Support
The space used to be a vacant field, sandwiched between Casis Elementary School and a parking lot.Now, thanks to diligent fundraising and an architect parent, it is a state-of-the-art outdoor...
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Select Texas Districts Aim to Pilot Testing Reforms
Almost exactly six years ago, a handful of Texas superintendents were getting together to draft what would amount to a vision statement for the future of public schools.Among the topics they tackled...
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For Some Teachers, Classroom Strain Runs Deeper Than Budget Cuts
When Liz Peterson became an educator 14 years ago, she thought of teaching as a form of social justice. She entered the profession because she wanted to help close the achievement gap between poor...
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PAC Uses Football to Target Voucher Proposals
As they prepare for a battle over school vouchers during the next legislative session, a liberal advocacy group is calling attention to a program that few thought was under immediate threat in Texas:...
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Comptroller's Report Examines College, Public School Debt
As the lawsuit involving two-thirds of Texas school districts went to trial this week, the focus was on the effects of state-level funding cuts. But outside the courtroom, public school spending at the...
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Dewhurst, Patrick Discuss Plans for "Sweeping" School Reform
Speaking in a Catholic school classroom in Austin, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick gave the first details of what they promised would be a wide-ranging set of proposals for public...
View ArticleVideo: Texas Weekly Newsreel: Money for Schools, Guns for Schools
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, unveiled their school choice legislation, without many financial details and hardly a word about vouchers. And last week's schoolhouse...
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Dewhurst: Set Money Aside for School Lawsuits
The Texas Legislature should prepare for a probable negative judgment in its ongoing school finance lawsuits by socking away money in the next budget to comply with a future court order, Lt. Gov. David...
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Texplainer: Will Legislature Take On School Funding Despite Trial?
Hey, Texplainer: With a school finance lawsuit pending, is there anything lawmakers can do with the state's school finance system this session?Two-thirds of Texas' public school districts are suing the...
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Budget Plans Target Incentives and Testing
In budget proposals that the House and Senate released this week, legislative leaders signaled their priorities as much by what they funded as by what they didn’t.Neither budget offers new funding for...
View ArticleVideo: TribuneFest: A Conversation with Aycock and Patrick
At the Trib's February 25 symposium on public education at Rice University, I talked school finance, accountability, choice and other hot-button issues with state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, the...
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Whatever Became of That School Finance Ruling?
When John Dietz issued an oral ruling declaring the state’s school finance system unconstitutional in February, the state district court judge said he would release a more detailed, written decision by...
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Lawyers Ask to Reopen Evidence in School Finance Trial
State district court Judge John Dietz has agreed to hear new testimony in the sweeping school finance trial involving more than two-thirds of the state's school districts, a trial that had concluded in...
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
State District Court Judge John Dietz will hear new evidence in the sweeping school finance trial as he considers the effects of changes made during the recent legislative session.It doesn't feel much...
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