By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B It may cost $20,000 a year or more. But is private-school tuition really worth the big bucks? An interesting new study by two University of Illinois researchers seems to indicate it often isn’t. And it gives further evidence that many folks can’t spot a “good” school when they […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A The five members of the Wilmer-Hutchins board of managers are ready to dissolve the troubled district and merge with Lancaster schools. But the board didn’t take action at Monday night’s meeting because a sometimes rowdy crowd made it clear it wanted a chance to speak its mind. “We […]
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By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A The Wilmer-Hutchins school district may be in its final days as an independent, functioning body. At the urging of state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, the district’s board of managers is expected to meet early next week to make a final decision on Wilmer-Hutchins’ future. And the two top […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A Ending social promotion isn’t turning out to be as easy as state education leaders may have hoped. After two tries, about 40,000 Texas fifth-graders still haven’t passed the math and reading sections of the TAKS test. That means a summer full of stress and, for many, another year […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 8B Wilmer-Hutchins leaders said last week that there were only two lifelines that could keep the beleaguered school district alive much longer: an act of the Legislature or a new emergency appeal to voters. The first lifeline has disappeared. And Tuesday night, state officials asked the district not to […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 7B The Wilmer-Hutchins school district has $2.8 million in bank debt, $3 million more in teacher salaries it can’t pay and $70 in the bank. That grim financial picture is why a Dallas County district judge ordered the district and Wells Fargo to find a way to settle their […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1B The future of Wilmer-Hutchins will come down to two votes: one in Austin, one at the district’s polling places. The troubled school district is relying on legislative action to make its financial bind less painful – and counting on voters to extend the district a lifeline this July. […]
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 2B The Wilmer-Hutchins school district may not have the money to pay its bills this summer, but teachers want to ensure their paychecks are secure. A teachers group filed suit Monday against the district and a bank to ensure that teachers will be first in line if the district’s […]
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By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A ENUGU, Nigeria – For generations of Nigerians, “missionary” was a synonym for “Irishman.” Thousands of Irish Catholics left Europe for the wilds of Africa, braving heat and disease to bring the message of Christ to heathen animists.But today’s missionaries are working in the opposite direction. They’re native Nigerians […]
Read More… from Spiritual payback; Foreign priests want to fill need – if Americans let them
By Joshua Benton Staff Writer Page 1A ENUGU, Nigeria – Ejike Mbaka is telling a story. The 20,000 Nigerians gathered around him in the red-dust lot have gone quiet. “Last week, there was a man who was mad, insane,” he begins, standing on a rickety stage. “For years, the doctors attempted to heal him. But […]
Read More… from Moved by the Spirit; Nigerians blend Catholicism, traditional beliefs