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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.
Dallas' top-notch magnet schools are at the heart of an identity crisis that has sent fissures through the state’s second-largest district, sparking emotional debates about how scarce funds should be spent during a time of financial reckoning. Full Story
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We’ve annotated the contracts of the 10 highest-paid school superintendents, along with those who lead the state’s 10 largest districts, so readers can view their pay in the context of retirement benefits, performance incentives, and perks like automobile and cellphone allowances. Full Story
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We’ve collected and annotated the contracts of the 10 highest-paid school chiefs, as well as of those who lead the state’s 10 largest districts, for a total of 14, so readers can view their pay in the context of retirement perks, performance incentives and benefits like monthly automobile and cellphone allowances. Full Story
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A familiar battle between the Texas House and the Senate involves proposed changes in how the state should hold students and educators accountable. Full Story
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Nine SBOE members say there's a potential $2 billion for public schools in the state's Permanent School Fund — but they need a constitutional amendment to get it. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Faster speeds on the highway; more authority for Susan Combs; EPA cuts in Texas Full Story
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To avoid government shutdown, congressional Democrats agreed to repeal an amendment that would have prohibited Texas from using federal funds to replace, rather than supplement, state funding of schools. Full Story
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Not much, unless you're one of the state's 130,000 civilian federal employees — or you’re scrambling to get your taxes done. Full Story
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The Social Security numbers of 164,406 students who graduated from eight Texas school districts over the past two decades were placed at risk for identity theft, according to Texas Education Agency documents obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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With budget gridlock in Washington, and massive education cuts at home, the Texas school districts that qualify for federal "Impact Aid" dollars are waging a war on two fronts. Full Story
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