Blue Tsunami Post-Election (and school elections catchup)
Special episode, recorded Nov. 4, the morning after the midterm tsunami. We set aside our usual rhythm to go through what the results mean for school finance, including places we&
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Episode
In Ohio, the Levies Are Dry (Pickerington, Cincinnati)
Pre-election episode, recorded Oct. 27. 127 Ohio school districts have levies on the Nov. 3 ballot, and two listeners wrote in, one from Cincinnati and one from Pickerington. We
Reversed Courses and Broken Promises in Bellingham (WA)
Two requests came in hot from Bellingham, Washington, where the superintendent has recommended closing Columbia and Carl Cozier elementaries after 2026-27, four years after voters approved a bond that
It's People, It's People, It's People (Little Rock, AR)
Emergency episode, recorded Oct. 9. Organizers in Little Rock asked us about LRSD Forward, the district's plan to close Western Hills, Mabelvale and McDermott elementaries in fall 2027.
Ref-er-EN-dum, Indiana (Noblesville)
Meet Noblesville — a ~10,000-student school corporation in Hamilton County, Indiana. Their current $25M/year operating referendum expires at the end of this year; they're going for
If You Close It, They Will Leave (Minneapolis Public Schools)
EMERGENCY EPISODE — MINNEAPOLIS Recorded as the MPS board heads announces plans to close 15-16 school buildings. This is about why school closures don't solve budget deficits, and
Breakfast at TIF-fany's (Chicago Public Schools)
Or: SCHRÖDINGER'S BUDGET Chicago Public Schools, TIFs, Tyler Tech, and the politics of assumptions. In this episode: mayoral control and the 2013 school closures, the MEABF pension shift
In the Shadow of the American Chernobyl: Roane County (TN)
Guest: Geoff Alexander of the Trade Movies podcast. Our first cross-pod episode. Geoff — aka "the woker" — asked us to look at Roane County, TN, where he grew
Caught in the Same Vice (Lake Travis ISD, TX)
Austin ISD is closing 10 schools and staring down a $181 million shortfall. Lake Travis ISD — a wealthy suburb of Austin — is running a much smaller deficit, laying off central
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