Follow the Money: Digging Into School District Finances

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Follow the Money: Digging Into School District Finances

August 2, 2017

When it comes to school district finances, the numbers aren’t easy to add up. But tracking and analyzing this information is a powerful tool to drive smart news coverage.

Veteran education journalist Tawnell Hobbs of The Wall Street Journal shares tips and tricks for digging into district operating budgets and actual expenditures, as well as salary databases, overtime requests, check registers and credit card accounts, purchase orders, and more. Learn how to evaluate fiscal data that’s readily available and make the most of open records requests.

Pulitzer Prize Winner: How to Cover Stonewalling or Antagonistic School Boards and Leaders
South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Scott Travis provides tips on ways to get beyond “No Comment.”

July 13, 2021 BY SCOTT TRAVIS OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL FOR EWA

When a school district wants to hide corruption, mismanagement and misspending, it will do what it can to make a reporter’s job difficult.

As the education reporter covering Broward County Public Schools in Florida – a district plagued by a school massacre, an $800 million construction bond boondoggle and the arrest and resignation of its superintendent – my beat has been difficult.

Blog: The Educated Reporter

With Schools Reopening Full-Time, What Pandemic-Driven Changes Will Last?
Get 7 story ideas to help you cover K-12 and higher education shifts that may have staying power.

July 12, 2021 BY KRISTA JOHNSON OF THE MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER FOR EWA

Despite the many hardships the pandemic caused, the COVID-19 disruption also sparked – or in some cases accelerated – changes to K-12 and higher education that leaders say should stick.

The speakers pointed to the power of flexibility, the need to focus energy and resources that will serve the “whole student,” and how increased outreach and new communication strategies with students and families could be transformative during a plenary at the Education Writers Association’s 2021 National Seminar.

Blog: The Educated Reporter

Free College Tuition Isn’t Enough: Fresh Story Ideas on the Dropout Crisis
What education reporters need to know about social service programs that can help close the completion gap

July 9, 2021 BY JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM OF THE CONVERSATION FOR EWA

When it comes to writing news stories about efforts to help low-income students earn a college degree, journalists may be tempted to focus on “promise” programs that provide free tuition and, occasionally, intense academic counseling.

EWA Radio

Student Pays High Price for Reporting Teacher’s Misconduct
Tampa Bay Times investigation finds questionable actions by school officials in handling complaint, and raises concerns about loopholes for holding misbehaving teachers accountable (EWA Radio Episode 275)

July 7, 2021 Emily Richmond Subscribe to #ewaRADIO

For Madisyn Slater, a senior at Blake High School in Tampa, Florida, there was little question that popular biology teacher Tiffany Johnson crossed the line with students. Slater’s decision to report Johnson’s sexual comments and other inappropriate behavior led to the student – not the teacher — facing a school district investigation.

photo of burning buildings during the Tulsa Race Massacre

EWA Radio

What Is Critical Race Theory?
As Oklahoma wrestles with 100th anniversary of Tulsa Race Massacre, critics and educators clash over how and what students are taught about race and society (EWA Radio Episode 271)

July 7, 2021 Emily Richmond Subscribe to #ewaRADIO

The Tulsa Race Massacre’s centennial has recently drawn headlines nationwide, but most Americans – including many educated in Oklahoma public schools – never previously learned about the tragic episode.

State of the Education Beat 2021
A Critical Profession at a Time of Crisis

Follow the Money: Digging Into School District Finances

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Follow the Money: Digging Into School District Finances

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